


A Puppet’s Guide to Heroism

by SketchyAesthetic



Category: BnHA, Boku no Hero Academia, My Hero Academia, mha
Genre: Abuse, Action, Alpha - Freeform, BDSM, Bakugou Katsuki - Freeform, Bondage, Eventual Smut, F/M, Healing, Lemon, Mental Abuse, Multi, Physical Abuse, Poly, Porn With Plot, Protective bakugou, Reverse Harem, Shibari, Smut, Threesomes, Threesoms, daddy - Freeform, non-con with eventual con, sub/dom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:08:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 35,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25360621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SketchyAesthetic/pseuds/SketchyAesthetic
Summary: It was only a matter of time before capitalism sunk it's claws into Japan's hero industry, and Akemi was the prized project of world wide conglomerate KiboKoshi. A secret machination of Quirk science, she had just managed to beg her way to a taste of freedom when they allowed her to shadow some of UA's hero prospects. That is, under strict conditions that prevent her from doing much more than observing.But under cloak, lock and key,  Akemi's yearning to taste what true heroism feels like slowly gets the best of her as she stumbles dangerously close to a tragic ending.Her time is running out, investors are wanting to see their money at work. And deep down, she wonders if someone such as herself could truly be accepted as a Hero in this world.-----Warnings: smut, obviously over powered OC, and a plot completely straying from canon.This fanfic is shamelessly about cool powers, steamy sex, and playing around with fun or cool ideas. :)
Relationships: Bakugo / OC, Bakugou Katsuki/Original Female Character(s), Dabi/Original Female Character(s), Hawks / OC, Hawks / reader, Katsuki Bakugo / OC, Katsuki Bakugo / original female character(s), Katsuki Bakugo / reader, Katsuki bakugou / original female character(s), Shinsou Hitoshi/Original Female Character(s), Takami Keigo | Hawks / original female character(s), Todoroki Shouto / Original female character(s), Todoroki Shouto / Reader, Todoroki Shouto / oc, Todoroki Shouto / original character, Todoroki/femaleoc, eijiro kirishima / original female character(s), hawks /original female character(s), katsuki bakugou / Original Character
Comments: 52
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1. Don’t Bite the Hand that Feeds You (This Time)

——————-

A small, tiny aphid pitter pattered it's way across the plump, lush-colored leaf. Akemi let out a huff of frustration. Her hands-which had been tediously wrapping the bandages across her legs-paused for a moment as she contemplated what that tiny orange bug meant. 

She had worked her ass off growing this basil. Herbs were not her strong suit, she much preferred tropicals. But being that she loved the smell of basil, she had sacrificed one of the few well-lit corners of her tiny concrete sliver of a "courtyard" for the herb. And now some asshole aphid had brought over his stupid aphid family and made a homestead on the plant's stem. 

As she glowered at the bugs, the gold ring around her green eyes shone faintly. She reached a hand upwards, to feel the deep warmth of the summer sun that filtered through the rebar-steel canopy above, and then snapped her fingers. The tiny little aphid and his tiny little aphid brethren were engulfed in sparks, a faint ash fall marking the stem where they had sat.

"Akemi!" A voice, sing songy and clear, echoed off of the concrete walls, and a sliding door was flung open down the hall. Akemi startled to her feet, quickly tying off the bandage on her leg and shoving a small gardening spade deep into the earth of one of her pots. While they knew the bracelets at her wrists and ankles could control her Quirks should she direct them at any of her "caretakers", they knew better than to allow her around sharp objects. Even Quirckless, she was deadly. Exactly what they designed her to be.

Brushing off her plain, off-white linen (polyester blend? Probably. They were cheap when it came to necessities) dress, the pale-skinned girl attempted to rub deeply at her eyes, hoping it would quell the tell-tale sign of her Quirk's activation. She had been slowly, slowly chipping away at the underside of her right-hand cuff, and experimenting with how much she could use her Quirks while still locked up.

So far, she had been able to exterminate a small colony of garden pests. How impressive.

The 18 year old tried not to let the resignation get to her, she already knew the woman who's heels were reverberating down the hallway would dampen her spirits enough, she didn't have to bully herself on top of it.

"Akemi, my love, my dear, prized little lamb. Have I ever told you how proud you make me?" Chia Tanaka held her palm to the scanner at the entryway to Akemi's "room", the bullet-proof, fire-proof, shatter-proof (frost-proof? She hadn't tried it out) glass doors gliding open before swiftly closing behind her. Akemi's mind briefly wandered to thinking about what a great guillotine they would make, but she quickly snapped back to reality.

She felt a twist in her gut, recognizing the razor-sharp smile that pulled at Chia's cyan-colored lips. The perfectly polished black leather of her signature Louis Vuitton stilettos glinted in the incandescent light of Akemi's room, the blood red painted soles reflected on the glass doors at the business woman's back. 

"I don't think you ever really have, Chia." Akemi spat out the woman's name. She didn't call her by her first name out of respect or closeness. It was done out of spite, a minuscule act of rebellion.

"Well—" Chia set her crocodile skin briefcase on the floor, taking a moment to inspect her ocean blue manicure and smooth out her pencil skirt. "-that's because you NEVER FUCKING HAVE!" 

Akemi winced as the older woman stomped the point of her heel into her foot, holding back a cry. Chia bent over the girl, grabbing her chin and staring her down with her own bright green eyes. In all other aspects, they were polar opposites. Chia was tell where she was petite, flat chested where she was curvy, willowy where she was muscular. But their eyes were both Fox-like, a deep emerald green with a thick lining of lashes. 

Chia's grip on Akemi's chin tightened. "Do you know what they told me? They said that after all we have been through, that you don't come off as a hero. They said you exemplified a lack of tact, charm and confidence, and that you came off as slimy and deceptive. Cowardly even."

"I wonder who I learned that from." Akemi spat back, sucking air in through her teeth as the heel drove harder into her foot.

In an instant, Chia had slapped her, the sting causing tears to well in Akemi's eyes. "They said you aren't marketable. If only you hadn't made us punish you so much, maybe we could have pulled off the sultry, stand offish type. But now you're basically good for nothing, we can't put you in anything revealing. I guess we could sell you to the League of Villains, but—" 

"Stop it, Tanaka." A cool voice interjected. Chairman Kira gracefully breezed through the door, phasing through the glass. He harumphed around as he loosened his tie, gliding over to take Chia by the arm. "I mean you're right, but you can't be so harsh with your words. As we take this huge loss of investment with grace, we must strive to cut our losses. Selling Akemi to the League of Villains, or perhaps renting her out as an asset? Those would probably make up for our losses and pay the investors back. If we rent her out as a liaison, then we have a consistent revenue form and-"

"I think I can still be a hero!" Akemi interjected. She trembled under their gazes, especially Chairman Kira's. Bad memories—long having been bottled up within her—threatened to overflow. She avoided his eyes as she continued. "I know I've had...the best combat instructors at my time here within the Facilities, and the best intelligence officers. But I haven't gotten much when it comes to...charisma, or...team work. Or even being exposed to the o-outside world—" 

Chia snorted.

"Let me study under the graduating class from U.A.! I-"

Chia's eyes widened as she quickly cut Akemi off. "Absolutely not. Are you crazy? Do you know how precious your very DNA is? We don't even know if we can copyright some of the things that we did to create you-" 

"I won't use my Quirks." Akemi was breathless at this point. "I won't fight, I can just...be there as a support student? Or maybe as a favor? Chairman, I know you have connections to Eraserhead. That way I can just..." she blushed as she trailed off. "...learn to interact with people more."

Chia was quick to express her anger at the subject, but Chairman Kira put a gloved finger to her lips. "You won't be able to use the hero name we picked out for you. You will wear your cuffs at all times. Should we see that they have been deactivated, we will immediately come retrieve you, and you will face those consequences. Furthermore, you are to wear a disguise."

"A disguise?!" Akemi was both elated at the idea of being allowed some modicum of freedom, and hyper aware of the control that the Chairman had over the terms.

"You are still our product. We have marketed you a certain way to our clients and investors. We can't allow them to see you out and about fraternizing with other heroes and heroes in training. At least not until I can figure out how to explain your presence at U.A. in a positive way. Until then, I'll provide you with a cloak and mask. I'll pull a couple favors at U.A." He turned to Chia. "Get her washed, help pack some basic necessities. She should be there by Saturday."

As he turned to leave, Chia grasped his sleeve. "Wait a minute, my love you can't be serious—"

His gaze turned to steel as he looked down at the woman. "You overstep your bounds, Miss Incubator." Chia winced at the faux-hero name used to taunt her. Her Quirk had made her incredibly useful to the corporation, but now that the product had been finalized (for now), it was used to shame her. He pulled away from her grasp.

"Have her ready, like I requested, as soon as possible. I have some calls to make."

Akemi felt the drum beat of her heart, it felt as though her whole body was humming. She would get to talk to people, to have human conversations.

She turned to her basil, smiling wide for the first time in what felt like years.

"I'm sorry buddy. I guess we're already parting ways."


	2. Ch. 2 : The One Where They Mistake Her For a Man

Akemi could hear the two men discussing on the other side of the black door to Aizawa’s home, and tried her best to cling to every word they said. Information was precious. 

“So she isn’t a hero in training?” Aizawa’s voice was gruff, with a light drawl. Chairman Kira lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Listen Aizawa, I cant tell you much. But she is...my adopted daughter and I would like for her to get more interactions with Heroes and...young adults her age, before she enters the industry.”

“Enters the industry as what, Kira? I know what KiboKoshi has been working on. To say I’m concerned is an understatement. If she is your adopted daughter, why have I not met her until now? You have invited me to many family dinners.”  
Aizawa was more than reprehensible of the idea of getting too involved with Kira. Kira had once worked closely with Aizawa as partnered pro-Heroes. But as he became obsessed with the money and fame of the industry, he decided to quit working as a Hero and work trying to fund the use of private Heroes for contract at KiboKoshi, a conglomerate that began in the U.S. as a military contractor. This whole situation left a sour taste in Aizawa’s mouth. 

“I can’t tell you yet, Aizawa. We have to keep it all under wraps for just a little while longer. But honestly, it’s a huge business opportunity. Splendid, really. If you ever feel like investing in the project, I can have her demonstrate—“

“Her? Kira is the project the girl? You know how many laws that would violate? Contracting independent heroes is one thing, but you can’t take away her autonomy, her right to CHOOSE, Kira. If this is what I think it is, it’s basically human tra-“

“She is CHOOSING to be here, Aizawa. Listen I can’t say much, but just let her be a shadow for a couple of your students. You know, watch from afar on some missions, sit in the back of the classroom. Please. You owe me.” Kira picked up his coat and briefcase, as though he had already made the decision for Aizawa. “And before you say anything, Aizawa, Akemi is sitting outside with her bags packed. So unless you want to be responsible for a homeless youth on the streets, I’d recommend that you accept my offer.” 

With that, Chairman Kira swung open the door to Aizawa’s home and glanced over at Akemi. “Behave. Remember our agreement. The more obedient you are, the more freedoms you get. The cloak and mask shouldn’t be for too long, I’m meeting with the shareholders next weekend. Stay quiet, don’t try to put yourself in any heroic situations. If you aren’t marketable enough by the end of this year, we most likely will still send you over to the villains.” He took a cigar out of his coat pocket and lit it, taking a long drag before placing a hand on the small of Akemi’s back. She instantly pulled away, glowering at him. “Mask, cloak. Now.” He added. 

She pulled the heavy woolen cloak around her shoulders, fastening the 6 golden buttons at the top. Begrudgingly, she put the stuffy, full faced plague doctor’s mask on, and pulled the hood over her long blue grey hair.

“Good. I’ll speak with you later.” 

As the Chairman’s sleek black car sped away, Aizawa heard a tentative knock at his door. He groaned, pulling at the scarf that wound around his neck tighter. He knew that accepting the Chairman’s deal was dangerous. But he also knew that the girl was probably safer the closer they could keep her to U.A. Maybe this could buy him enough time to reach out figure out how to get the girl out of the conglomerate’s claws. She was officially an adult now, she just needed someone to tell her that it was okay and to give her the space necessary for independence.

Pulling open the door, Aizawa was met with a small (probably no taller than 5”2’) figure, clothed in deep blues and greens. Under the heavy clothing, Aizawa could swear he saw her tremble.

“Akemi, right?”

“Y...yeah.” The voice behind the mask was barely a whisper.

“Well welcome to your temporary ish home, I guess. After you.” He held the door open for the girl, who took her small suitcase and entered the home, her head swiveling from side to side as she took in the cozy (small, really) home. She bent down to remove her shoes, and gasped as soon as her feet touched the shag carpet. Embarrassed, she looked away from her new teacher. “Nice to meet you...” she mumbled. “I’m Akemi.”

Aizawa plopped himself down on his couch, pulling up his student ledger on his phone. “Akemi....Same last name as the Chairman, I presume?” He looked up at Akemi expectantly.

She shook her head. “No last name.” Her response came out as a muffled squeak. “I’m sorry, what did you say your last name was? I can’t hear you through the mask.” He cocked an eyebrow.

She pulled the mask up, just enough to reveal her lips. “No last name, sir.” 

He was surprised at her voice. It was breathier than he expected. He supposed her small stature had led him to believe it would be high pitched, but she very much sounded like an 18 year old woman, although a timid one. He turned back to his ledger, leaving the space for the last name blank.

“Okay Akemi. Well I don’t have a guest bedroom, so you can stay in mine for the night. For now, I’ll sleep On the couch. Classes technically start Monday, but this Sunday we are having a class trip to the botanical gardens. Would you like to come? I completely understand if you don’t, I believe this is a culture shock for you but I think it would be a good opportunity to meet your peers—“

“I’ll go!” He was surprised by the excitement in her voice. “The botanical gardens...” she mumbled to herself, twiddling her thumbs. “I-I’ve always wanted to go.” She added, looking up at him. As she stared into his eyes, she quickly felt embarrassed and turned to the stairs, stumbling on the first step. “Thank you so much for having me.”

“Hey, you don’t know where the bedroom is!” He called after her, and upon not hearing a response added. “It’s the second door on the left.” 

Akemi swung the door closed behind herself, both elated and terrified. She was not only going to be surrounded by people her age, but she was actually going to go on a field trip! One that didn’t entail going to a corporate office, or being flown into the mountains for a disaster training drill. 

Akemi unbottoned the heavy cloak and stepped out of her shorts, pulling off her loose cotton top as well. It was already a hot night, but she sadly didn’t own any pajamas. She would have to ask the Chairman for some later, not that she was unaccustomed to sleeping in her underwear.

She fell onto the bed, relishing in how soft it was. “Pretty pathetic that this is my first time sleeping on a bed.” She said to herself, holding her hands straight out towards the ceiling, picking lightly at the calluses on her palms.  
After a few moments of taking in her surroundings, Akemi gave in to the lush comforter and down pillows, and found herself falling asleep.

Aizawa wasn’t comfortable with a student sleeping in his home, no matter if they were of age. He grumbled for a second before looking at the clock on his nightstand, it was already 12:48 AM. He knew that most of his female students still lived in the dorms, a few of them having gotten their own studio apartments off campus. He briefly wondered why the Chairman hadn’t done that for Akemi as well, but considering the tattered cloak and scuffed up shoes she was wearing, he wasn’t too surprised.  
Pulling his phone back out, he thumbed through the various group chats his students had added him to, trying to find who was still active at this time of night. Kirishima’s name popped up, outlined in green.  
Sighing to himself, Aizawa began typing. 

Aizawa: Hey Kirishima, I have a huge favor to ask of you.

Kirishima quickly began typing his reply.

...  
...  
...

Kirishima: Sure teach, what can I help you out with?

Aizawa: I hate to ask, but I have a new student who will be shadowing our hero program starting tomorrow. I was wondering if you had an extra room they could stay in for now? I know that you and Bakugou have your own place, don’t mean to impose.

Kirishima: No worries! Yeah you can totally send them over. We have an empty room upstairs. 

Aizawa: you sure you don’t want to talk it over with Bakugou?

Kirishima: hell be fine, we have plenty of space. Thanks for trusting me with this task teach

Aizawa groaned out loud before chuckling to himself.

Aizawa: cool, their name is Akemi. You’ll see them tomorrow at the field trip, I’ll send them home with you from there.

Kirishima: you got it!!

Aizawa ran his fingers through his hair. He desperately needed a cigarette, why would he even agree to this? He would have to tell All Might, whatever KiboKoshi and Kira were up to couldn’t be good, and he had the feeling that what his impending disobedience of Kira would make some very powerful people very unhappy.

Oh well, he would deal with it tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, the smut is coming (should be some in the next chapter). Sorry for the short chapter, I’ll have the next one posted by tomorrow at the latest, hopefully by tonight. I’m relatively new at this, so if you could leave a comment or kudos just to let me know you want more, that would make my day. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akemi has the day of a lifetime, and someone takes her breath away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, the first smut scene haha. Enjoy you guys, I’ll have more posted by tomorrow. ;)

Akemi has been faced with the dilemma of what to wear under her heavy as fuck cloak. It was summer, and the forecast for the day read for a high of 37• Celsius. 

Alas, the woman only had two outfit options. One being her "Hero" garb, which consisted of black shorts, a utility belt, a tight black crop top with no sleeves, and an oxblood harness that went around her torso and chest. The other was a heavy woolen top and jeans. She begrudgingly knew which one was more practical to wear. Accepting her fate, she pulled on her top and began buckling the holster. She supposed that she didn't HAVE to wear the holster as well, but given that this was the first time she was allowed to carry her dagger set outside of training, she was happy to slide them into their respective sheathes on her thighs and torso. It had been a compromise of sorts, when Akemi had asked what she could do to defend herself should they ever get attacked while she was shadowing class 1-A. After all, it wasn't unheard of for the class to be targeted. Kira had rolled his eyes. "Fine, you can carry your precious daggers."

Akemi giggled with anticipation as she finished buttoning her cloak and placed the musty mask over her face. Her vision really was hampered by the stupid thing, and people could hardly hear her. She was happy that Kira had told her it was temporary, just to ensure that the investors didn't know that their prized project was out and about just yet. 

"Field testing..." Kira had explained. "without approval is typically against the law, in the medical field at least. The same kind of logic is applied here."

"Akemi!" Aizawa called from below. "Bring down your bags as well, I found you someone to board with, a classmate."

The word "classmate" sent shivers down her spine, and Akemi had to once again ground herself with what was ACTUALLY happening. She really was out of the compound. She took a moment to press her toes into the carpet, before picking up her still packed suitcase and running down the steps to the door. "Thank you for finding me lodging." She bowed at her teacher respectfully, bending down to pull on her battered leather boots.

The car ride to the botanical gardens was wonderful. Akemi sat, the beak portion of her mask pressed firmly against the glass as she took in the sights. She hardly got to leave the compound at all, and almost never got to see the city. She marveled at the passerby's, glancing at a fashionably dressed woman before becoming self conscious of her own ratty garb. She truly hated the fact that her first impression on her classmates would be in this state. Although her hood covered her hair, she had taken the time to braid her hair into two neat fishtails. She felt like dressing up, even if it was just for herself.

"We're here." Aizawa put the small van in park, stretching as he got out of the car. "Is your suitcase going to be okay sitting in the heat?" He turned to Akemi, who nodded. "It's just some clothes and toiletries. It'll be fine." 

Akemi watched as a group of people gathered in the parking lot, exchanging excited greetings and hugging one another. Akemi felt a pang in her stomach, and the bitter taste of jealousy rose in her mouth like vile. A taller guy, dressed in a tank top and dark wash jeans, seemed to notice Aizawa and his student and broke off from the group, jogging towards them with a huge toothy grin plastered on his face. 

He ran a hand through his spiky red hair. "Hey teach, how's it going? Oh! Is this the new student?" He turned to Akemi and extended a hand. Akemi couldn't help but notice how muscular his arm was, marveling at how small her hand felt in his when she shook it. "My name is Eijiro Kirishima, nice to meet you. I think you're staying with me from now on."

Akemi hesitantly pulled away from the handshake, surprised that it took so much effort to stop from staring at the man's toned chest and arms. "My name is Akemi, nice to meet you as well." She was typically brash and loud in conversations, but being surrounded by so many new people and experiences had pushed her back into a shy and hesitant shell. She tried her best to pull from her confident persona, but as Kirishima softened his gaze, she could tell she had failed.

"Well-" Kirishima squeezed Akemi's shoulder, sending a shiver of excitement down her spine. "-lets get you introduced to everyone. The main group really, I believe Toru, Mashirao and the others opted to go on their on trip. Sadly, Bakugo couldn't have bothered himself to come, I think he’s out drinking with some....acquaintances, and Todoroki is out of commission today due to the flu, but pretty much everyone else is excited to meet you!" As he marched her towards the other students, all dressed in their casual clothing, Akemi couldn't help but feel even more self conscious of her ridiculous outfit. She silently cursed the chairman and his stupid rules as everyone was introduced. 

As everyone shook her hand, Akemi tried her hardest to jeep track of everyone’s names. Mina, Tsuyu, Iida, Denki, Jiro, Momo, and of course Kirishima.

"And last but not least, this is Izuku Midoriya, but we call him Deku. Oh and his girlfriend, Ochaco Ururaka." The pair enthusiastically shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you, I’m Akemi.”

“Is that your last name or first name, Akemi?” Ururaka probed, her arms going to wrap around Deku’s waist shyly. Akemi watched as a red gradient climbed it’s way up Deku’s neck, and he cleared his throat. 

“It’s my first name, I’d prefer it if you’d call me by my first name.” Akemi cleared her throat awkwardly. Kirishima, perhaps noticing the awkward air that had fallen over them, pumped his fist in the air in excitement before grabbing Akemi’s arm and dragging her towards the gates. “Let’s goooooo!” 

For the first time, Akemi was thankful for the mask. A blush crept over her face and her ears felt hot. She swallowed as she followed the redhead through the large wrought iron gates. She let out a small gasp at the site before her. The gardens featured a large glass dome in the middle of an expanse of fields of flowers and shrubbery. “They have a tropical atrium!” Akemi began running, Kirishima pulled behind her. A smile grew at his lips, he was just happy that the new student was finally excited about something. 

The rest of the group didn’t seem to mind being left behind, lounging in the shade of a nearby tree and pulling out sandwiches that they had packed for the trip.

Akemi ran inside the dome, overwhelmed by the sudden burst of humidity and the warmth of the sun. Jesus fucking Christ, she thought to herself, it’s a fucking greenhouse, this is literally the worst place to wear a woolen cloak. Oh well, she would deal with that later. 

She turned to Kirishima, who was staring at a small fuzzy plant that branched upwards, it’s tiny fronds battling with a nearby baby fig tree for light. 

“That’s an asparagus fern.” She kneeled beside him, brushing her gloved hand over the fluffy leaves. “It’s asparagus?” The red head retorted, looking down at the stem. Akemi chuckled. “Well it’s not really a fern and not really asparagus. It belongs to the Liloaceae family. Which in its self consists of about 4075 species of flowering plants. So I guess you can say it’s closer to a lily than a fern.” She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. Kirishima looked at her curiously, before inhaling himself. He quickly started coughing.

“Fuuuuck what is that smell?!”

Kirishima couldn’t tell, but Akemi’s eyes sparkled as she realized what the pungent odor was. “Holy shit!” She jumped up and grabbed Kirishima’s hand, quickly dragging him behind her as she searched for the source of the odor. “They have a fucking corpse flower!” 

“A corpse what?? And we are excited about the smell?” Kirishima retorted in disbelief.

“Of course! Here it is.” Akemi ignored his question as she slowed to a stop in front of a large green and purple blossom that towered several feet into the air. 

She turned to her classmate, quickly releasing his hand when she realized she was still gripping it tightly. “It’s a corpse flower! They only bloom after 7 to 10 years of growth.”

Kirishima turned to look down at her. “And when they finally bloom they smell like death?” He looked back at the bloom. “Cool I guess. How is it taller than me? I don’t feel very manly, being shorter than a flower.” 

Akemi giggled. “I think you’re plenty tall. You’re definitely taller than me.” He snorted in response, being taller than a short dude didn’t really make him feel any manlier, but he’d take it.

They spent the next few hours moseying about the greenhouse, as Akemi excitedly pointed out different plants. 

As the bright red of the setting sun filtered in through the glass dome, Kirishima had pulled out his phone to read a text.

“Hey dude, it seems the rest of the gang opted to go home. Aizawa put your stuff in my trunk, you feel like heading home? We can order in.”

“Sure!” She responded, rising from the bench she had been sitting on and brushing off her cloak. 

As they began to stroll towards the exit, kirishima looked down at his peer. “Hey, why are you wearing such heavy clothing, if you don’t mind me asking? I mean a lot of Heroes wear their costumes out and about, but teach told me you aren’t officially enrolled in the program.”

“Ahhh...” Akemi struggled to come up with a believable lie, she really should have thought of her answer sooner, she was definitely going to be asked this question at some point. “Well, lets just say that I haven’t made my public debut yet...and my um, step father wants me to wait until then to reveal myself? I guess.”

“That sounds like Hero shit, but if you say so haha. No worries, just curious. Glad you didn’t faint of a heatstroke today.” He replied.

Akemi laughed in response. “I definitely am sweating up a storm here.”

Kirishima opened the door to his car for her, shutting it behind her as she crawled in. “Well, you can use our shower when we get home.”

The long drive back to Kirishima’s rented house was silent, except for the Lo-fi pop filtering through the radio. Akemi closed her eyes, she hadn’t been allowed to listen to much music in the Compound, and she found herself grateful for the silence as she began to lightly nod her head to the music.

Kirishima pulled into the driveway, tapping Akemi on the shoulder. “I hate to interrupt your jam session, but it seems that we’re here.” 

She let out a yawn in response, before stepping out of the car and dragging her puny suitcase to the door. 

Kirishima swung the door open, and Akemi found herself in the definition of a bachelor pad. Clothes (including underwear) were strewn about the floor and couch, empty bottles of beer and sake adorning to top of the shelves in rows as though they were a suitable replacement for decor. “Sorry about the mess, haha. Bakugou isn’t home yet, but he’ll probably be back in about an hour or two, I told him to bring home pizza. I gotta join a raid real quick in LoL, the bathroom is upstairs to the left of Bakugo’s room, if you want to jump in the shower.”

Akemi nodded, having absolutely no idea what LoL was, before hastily running up the stairs and into the bathroom.

Aside from the junk on the counter, the bathroom itself was thankfully slightly clean. Akemi let out a sigh of relief, letting her cloak and mask fall to the ground before slowly unclamping her holsters and pulling off her shorts and top. She let the water run over her hand to check the temperature before jumping in.

This had to be the greatest thing she had experienced. An actual hot shower. She had fantasized about this moment for years. She let out a little moan as she tilted her head back and let the water run through her long hair. 

She thought of the day’s events, meeting her classmates, being able to actually see the plants she had only ever read about in books. Listening to music on the drive home, Kirishima’s rough hands—

She caught herself just as her hand began to run over her mound. Holy shit what was she thinking? She couldn’t be that starved of human interaction that she would pine over the first guy her age that she interacted with. She slapped at her cheeks. “Snap out of it!” She whispered. 

But the steam of the shower got the best of her, and she quickly found her hands wandering back down, one grasping at her left nipple lightly as the other found purchase within her folds. She let out a quiet moan, thinking about Kirishima’s hands, imagining how they would feel grasping at her thighs. 

Becoming frustrated with herself, and more than slightly embarrassed by her lack of self control, she quickly turned the shower handle all the way to cold, sucking air in through her teeth as the icy water pelted her skin like frozen needles. She had planned to shower longer, but the crooked lightbulb above the sink started flickering before burning out. “Great.” She grunted, stepping out of the tub and wrapping herself with a towel. 

Before she could swoop to pick up her clothes, the door swung open and she found herself being gruffly pushed against the tile wall.

“Who the fuck are you?! What are you doing in my house?” Akemi could barely make out the man’s form in the dark, but she could smell liquor on his breath. She opened her mouth but found herself frozen and unable to speak. 

“I’ll say it one more fucking time, who the fuck are you?!” 

Several things happened in quick succession after that. Kirishima ran up the stairs and to the bathroom.

He flicked on the light to the hallway,

Akemi’s towel fell from her body,

The man standing before her wrapped a hand around her throat, squeezing,

And Akemi let out a moan as her eyes rolled back. 

“H-hey wait that’s just-“ Kirishima stuttered, before realizing that he didn’t recognize the small woman that Bakugo had pinned to the wall. “Wait who are you??”

“I-I-“ she stuttered, gasping for air. “It’s me, Akemi.” 

“Akemi?! But Akemi is a boy- oh wait shit it’s a unisex name isn’t it?” Kirishima noted, before his eyes finally trailed down Akemi’s glistening body. He found himself staring the drop of water that perched on her hard nipple. Seeing Bakugou pining this woman to the wall finally registered, and he quickly turned around as he became hard. “Let her go Bakugou! That’s the new classmate I told you about earlier, the one Aizawa said needed a place to stay for a while.”

Bakugou looked deep into Akemi’s eyes, realizing how smooth the pale skin at her neck was, how her pink lips parted as she struggled to breathe. 

Fuck, he thought to himself. 

“Oi! You should have fucking told me it was a girl!” He yelled over his shoulder at his best friend.

“I didn’t fucking know asshat! Let her go now.”

In his drunken haze, Bakugou found himself wanting to test something out before letting her go. He let out a breath as he slowly squeezed Akemi’s throat tighter.

“A-aughhhh!!” She moaned louder, her body shuddering this time as she felt the wetness between her legs begin to drip down her inner thigh.

Kirishima couldn’t take it, he ran downstairs, yelling at his friend to let her get decent, before shutting the door to his room behind him.

Holy fucking shit, Kirishima thought. He could barely keep himself from tracing her curves with his hands when he saw her in that state. How hadn’t he known that Akemi was a girl? He felt like a fucking dope. And now he had to live with her? Shit. Shit shit shit.

Upstairs, Bakugou had finally pulled himself away from the petite woman. She fell to the ground, gasping, her face beet red. They’re going to think I’m a pervert, she thought to herself. 

Bakugou looked away, his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, before he realized that he had grown hard himself. He quickly turned around, stumbling into the doorway.

“You shoulda fucking announced who you were earlier. Get dressed or whatever.” He quickly tripped his way down the stairs.

Akemi realized that she was really, truly fucked now.


	4. Blue Grey Bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heated words are exchanged, and Kirishima gets caught in a compromising position.

_Fuck_. Akemi was left breathless on the floor of the bathroom, feeling the deep purple of a bruise bloom at her throat. 

Her first thought should have been: “wow, what an asshole, I can’t believe they saw me naked.” Instead it was: “holy shit, that was the hottest experience I’ve ever been through.” (Not that she had been through any hot experiences, but still). 

Making eye contact with Kirishima while Bakugou’s hand tightened around her throat made her turn hazy and she had felt a tingling at her core. She found that she was absolutely dripping between her thighs by the end of the encounter. Embarrassed, she hopped back into the shower and rinsed herself off quickly with lukewarm water. As she pulled on her sports bra, she realized that she still didn’t have any loungewear or sleepwear. She groaned to herself internally, re-wrapping the blanket around her body. They’d already seen her without her mask, but she hoped she could convince them to not talk about her appearance until the Chairman gave her the all-clear. In the meantime, though, she was going to have to ask to borrow some clothes. 

As Akemi finished brushing her hair, Kirishima sat on his bed in his downstairs room, groaning as his hand fervently stroked up and down his cock. He kept thinking back to the grey haired girl, locks stuck to her cheeks, breathless as her eyes, half lidded and glassy. lulled back. The red head couldn’t get the idea of him biting down on her nipples out of his head. He wanted to leave marks up and down her neck, her chest, her thighs-

Suddenly, the door to his room swung open. He turned around in shame, awkwardly trying to stuff his erection back into his pants. “What the fuck are you doing Kirishima?!” Bakugou slammed the door closed behind him. 

“W-well I was, ahem, taking care of my manly needs—“

“Your fuckin’ manly needs dude? If you were manly you’d march up there and jump on her, not rub one out down here in secret you fucking creep!” Bakugou interrupted, swinging about a newly opened bottle of beer. 

“Hey man don’t call me a creep! You’re the one that decided to choke her out even after knowing who she was!” Kirishima stood up and got in his best friend’s face. 

Bakugou laughed, shoving Kirishima backwards. “Oi she fuckin’ liked it too. You’re the one that didn’t tell me we’d have some broad staying over.” Kirishima threw up his hands in exasperation. “I didn’t know okay? She’s been wearing this stupid heavy cloak and mask all day, and her name is super ambiguous. Aizawa didn’t think to tell me.”

Bakugou cocked an eyebrow. “Whatever, asshole. I’m not fuckin’ being nice to her just because she’s new or hot or whatever-“

Kirishima interrupted the hot headed blond, pulling the beer from his hands. “You don’t have to be nice to her, but don’t choke her dude. Totally not a cool move.” 

Bakugou tore the beer out of Kirishima’s hands without hesitation, taking another swig. “Actually I don’t think that she minded that too much, Kiri. Did you see the way that she looked at me? Ha! As if I’d even fuck an extra like her.” 

Kirishima shook his head in frustration. “Dude, not every girl out there wants to fuck you.” 

“You’re just jealous cuz you want a piece of that ass. Start being manly and take your chance, maybe she wants both of us. She definitely looked at me like she’d like to-“

They both turned as someone softly knocked at the door. _Damn it_ , Kirishima thought, _had she heard anything?_

 _  
_ Bakugou swung open the door before Kirishima could protest. “What the hell do you want, blue-grey bitch?” 

Akemi was taken back for a second, her eyes focused on the blonde’s hand on the door frame, before she snapped to her senses. No matter how hot he was, he still was an absolute ass. Bakugou watched as Akemi’s green eyes glinted, anger sparking within them. “What, cat got your tongue you bi-“

Bakugou was cut off as Akemi brought her knee up and into his stomach. He doubled over, caught off-guard at the strength of the hit. Before he could straighten himself up, the petite girl brought her elbow up and slammed it down into the small of his back, the hot headed blonde crumpling to the floor with a loud groan. 

“Consider that payback for nearly choking me to death.” She coldly retorted, stepping over his body. “You fucking bitch!” Bakugou got up and lunged at the girl, an awe-struck Kirishima rushing to hold his friend back as Akemi sat herself calmly down on the bed. 

“I’m going to fucking kill you! What makes you think that-“

“Please shut up. Listen I’m sorry that we got off on the wrong foot, but you can’t deny that the way that you just acted warranted some retribution.” Akemi’s emerald eyes met Kirishima’s crimson ones, and she looked away, blushing lightly. 

“Fuck you, blue grey bitch. You were practically BEGGING me to—“

Kirishima interjected. “Okay, okay. I’m so sorry about my hot headed friend, he’s not acting very manly right now.”

“The fuck I’m not Kiri, I’m going to destroy this bitch!” Kirishima ignored the string of expletives his childhood friend was screaming and focused on the girl sitting on his bed. He noticed that she was still tightly wrapped in a towel, the black bands of a sports bra peaking out of the top. He felt the tips of his ears warm before he looked away. 

Akemi sighed. “Listen, I’m really sorry. None of you were supposed to see my face...much less my...body..” she stuttered, before adding. “I would appreciate it if you would keep it to yourselves for now. I know it’s a lot to ask, but my...step father doesn’t really want word of who I am getting out just yet.”

“Like hell, I ain’t doing you any favors you fuckin’ masochist-“ Bakugou stopped as Kirishima squeezed his arm. “Dude, it’s a small favor to ask. Let’s just respect her wishes this time, okay Bakugou?” 

Bakugou groaned, rolling his eyes. “Fine, whatever. Do what you want.” The blonde opened the door, motioning for Akemi to leave. The silver haired girl hesitated, shyly twiddling her thumbs and looking down at her feet, which were swinging back and forth.. She wasn’t even tall enough for her feet to touch the ground when sitting on Kirishima’s bed, and for some reason Kirishima began focusing on her small, bare feet. 

“What, you got some things else to say? Fuckin’ leave if you don’t. I’ve been nice enough to you today.” Bakugou growled, but his eyes found themselves wandering down the woman’s shoulders, noting how a curl of her still wet hair clung to her throat. He saw the faint outline of where his hand had pressed, standing out against her milky-white skin. _Fuuuuck_ , he thought, having to pull his gaze away. 

“Um, actually...I don’t have anything to sleep in, so I was wondering if you guys had a spare pair of shorts or um, pants or something...” Her earlier confidence and boldness had seeped out of her. She hated asking for favors, and suddenly felt intimidated by the two towering men who stood before her. 

Kirishima reached up to rub the back of his neck self consciously. “I’m afraid I haven’t gotten around to doing my laundry yet, I don’t have anything clean...Bakugou do you have something clean you could loan her?” 

Bakugou snorted. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me? You want me to lend her some of my shit? She should have come more prepared, not my fault she ain’t responsible.” That response got received a withering look from the red head, and Bakugou rolled his eyes. “Fine, sure, whatever. But just for tonight, and I expect you to give me my shit back.” 

Bakugou left the room in a huff, his heavy footed stomps up the stairs resonating throughout the house. Kirishima turned his attention to the girl on his bed, chuckling awkwardly. “Hey listen, I’m super sorry about this entire experience. He’s really not a bad person, I promise. He just doesn’t have a lot of...tact around people.” 

Akemi’s gaze softened. “I can empathize with that.” She said softly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

“Hey, Kiri?”

Kirishima stiffened. 

“Oh I’m sorry! I just heard Bakugou call you that, I won’t use the nickname if you aren’t comfortable with it.” She groaned internally, the air in the room felt stuffy. 

“No, no, Kiri is fine. Just took me by surprise, I guess.” 

She smiled softly. “Okay, Kiri it is then. I wanted to say thank you. For everything you know? Taking me in, and now keeping my secret. I don’t mean to be such a handful. I promise that I’ll get out of your hair soon.” 

Kirishima smiled softly, shaking his head before replying. “No no, you aren’t a handful at all. No worries, I really don’t mind you staying in my bed—head—-hair! I meant hair.” Kirishima groaned, hands pulling at his hair as he tilted his head back in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I guess I’m not being very cool right now.” 

Akemi let out a hearty laugh, about to reply but stopped by the tell tale stomps of a still angry Bakugou making his way down the stairs. 

“Here, take this-“ Bakugou threw a pair of grey cotton sweatpants at Akemi, letting out an annoyed huff. 

Akemi smiled up at him. “Thanks, Bakugou. I guess you aren’t too much of a shithead.” 

“Watch it, light-wash.” He growled back. 

Akemi made her way to the door, calling out over her shoulder. “I’m going to get changed real quick. I don’t mean to be a bother, but is there any food still left? I’m famished.”

“Bet you are.” Bakugou whispered to himself, earning a quick elbow jab from Kirishima. “Yeah we have pizza. If you want to, you can come join us once your dressed. We are going to play some Smash.” Kirishima elbowed Bakugou again before he could say anything, glowering down at his friend. 

“I have absolutely no idea what Smash is, but sure.” Akemi chuckled, running up the stairs. She closed the bathroom door behind her, contemplating the grey sweatpants that Bakugou had thrown at her. Although he said they had been clean, they still had his cinnamon bark smell. Akemi shook inappropriate thoughts from her head as she pulled them on. They were several sizes too large, and even tied as tight as they would go, they slouched low on her hips. Akemi sighed in frustration, they would have to do. She quickly readjusted her black sports bra, pulling her hair back into a half-assed attempt at a bun. 

She ran down the stairs, hand to her forehead as she felt the beginning of a headache prickling behind her eyes. 

“Finally!” Bakugou called over his shoulder, his eyes glued to the flashing flat screen in front of him, a vein popping in his forehead out of concentration as he smashed at the buttons on his controller. “Get over here so that I can beat your ass!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all! I’m sorry that this update has been so short. I’ve been pretty much putting up a new chapter every night and I’m getting tired haha. As always, any feedback or encouragement would be much appreciated. I really want to know what you guys think, and what you might want more of. The next chapter will be more action-oriented, but I’ll still throw in some smut. :)


	5. Smash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akemi finds out Bakugou’s embarrassing secret, and prepares herself to shadow on her first patrol with two top tier heroes.

Kirishima groaned as Bakugou pumped his fist in the air in triumph, ridiculing his best friend for losing. 

“No matter how many times you try, I’m always going to win when I main Marth, fuckin’ give up bro.”

“Whatever dude, I’m just trying to get used to playing Peach.” Kirishima mumbled through a full mouth of pepperoni pizza.

“Hey guys...” Akemi interjected, rushing past the boys to grab a slice from the coffee table. “...I’m assuming this game is Smash?”

The two men stared for a moment, dumbfounded. They hadn’t had the presence of mind to notice earlier, but now they could see the toned muscle under the porcelain skin of Akemi’s stomach, as well as the beauty mark that nestled next to her pierced navel. 

Kirishima was quick to notice the musculature of her arms, and noted that even though she was tiny she was in peak physical condition. Not bulky, but lithe, the sinew of muscle complimenting the feminine contour of her hips and clavicle. That would explain the way that Bakugou had crumpled under her hits earlier. He had the sudden urge to retreat back into their home gym.

Bakugou was the first to break through his trance, trying his hardest not to stare at his house guest’s ass as she stretched her arms up into the air in a cat like fashion. “Uhh, yeah. Surprised you’ve never heard of it to be honest, it’s a super long running and popular game. You live under a fuckin’ rock or something?”

Akemi let out a chuckle, purposefully ignoring the venom in his tone. “Yeah, something like that I guess...” She felt anxiety grip her stomach as she tried to shove aside her feelings of insecurity, plopping down on the couch to the red-head’a right.

Her arm brushed Kirishima’s, sending shivers up his spine. He offered her his controller tentatively, a crooked smile at his lips. “ Here. I’d recommend playing Samus or Sheik, easy first characters.”

Bakugou groaned. “Um, no the fuck they’re not-“

Kirishima snapped back. “They’re easy to button mash, shut up.”

Kirishima continued on, gently explaining each button to his peer, hyper-aware of the way that his knee rested against hers in his slouched stance on the couch. 

Bakugou rolled his eyes, trying his hardest to ignore the way his best friend bumbled around the woman. 

“Okay,” Akemi remarked. “I think I’m ready to play a round. Are you up for it, Bakugou?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

Cocky bitch, he thought. He couldn’t wait to put her in her place.

Much to her chagrin, Akemi had come to realize that she absolutely sucked at video games. After her fourth consecutive loss, the woman had about had it with Bakugou’s cocky attitude as he (yet again) stood up and screamed in victory.

“Take that, light-wash.” He turned to watch the gray haired woman seethe in anger, her hands clutching the controller tightly, knuckles turning white.

“You absolute cocky bastard.” She exclaimed. “I swear to god I’m going to tear you a new asshole once I figure out these controls.”

“Tear me a new asshole?” Bakugou’s face broke out in a mischievous smile. “From our introduction earlier, I don’t take you for much of a top in bed.”

Kirishima felt his cheeks redden as he embarrassment mirrored in Akemi’s gaze. She slammed down the controller. 

“I’m done for the night.” She turned to the kinder of the two friends. “Classes start tomorrow, right? Are you okay with driving me?”

“Yeah, sure.” Kirishima responded, taking a swig of beer. “But just a heads up, they aren’t really classes. We basically are already pro-heroes, we just are interning at local agencies before debuting. It might be a little boring for you, since you aren’t looking to become a Hero, but you’ll be tagging along on some patrols. I’m not sure who with, though.”

Akemi’s smile brightened. This honestly sounded super exciting to her. Not only would she be able to hang out with her peers, but she’d actually be able to see more of the city that she wanted to end up protecting. Bakugou was quick to take note of her brightened personality and scoffed.

Akemi jumped up and ran towards the stairs. “Could someone show me towards the spare room?” 

Bakugou jumped up from his spot on the couch. “Spare room??” He turned towards Kirishima, who was staring at his with a cocked eyebrow. “Ughhhhh...” the blonde exclaimed, a hand pinching the bridge of his nose. “About that....”

Akemi could not process what stood before her. 

The room was absolutely plastered with photos of Bakugou. Walls were covered in posters (signed by himself), the bedspread displaying a glowering Bakugou, in full hero garb. She even noted the half-deflated plushie of himself that sat in the corner. 

She and Kirishima both turned to the blonde man, who tried his best to avoid their gazes.

“So you’re telling me....” she began, putting her finger up to Bakugou’s lips, shushing him as he opened his mouth to interrupt her. “...that I have to sleep in a shrine that you built for yourself?” 

“No no it’s fine-“ Kirishima interjected. “You can take my room, I’ll sleep...here.” Even Akemi could see the the grimace on the red-heads face. 

“No...it’s ...fine. Whatever.” She threw herself on the bed, making a show of kicking the sheets down.

Bakugou stared at her, absolutely mortified at the fact that his blatant self absorption was put on display for the light-washed woman to see. 

“What are you waiting for?” She groaned. “Turn off the light on your way out.”

The two best friends awkwardly shuffled out of the room, flipping off the light switch behind them.

—————-

The next morning, Akemi sat in the car, stuffy under her cloak and mask, as she carefully wiggled a pocket knife into the crevices of the cuff that encircled her right wrist. She was working diligently on trying to carve the thick black stone that was set inside the inner side of the tight cuff, knowing that without it, her Quirks couldn’t be dampened as much. 

“What are you doing?” Bakugou quipped from behind her, his legs kicking against the back of her seat. 

“Making some uh....modifications, I guess.” She grumbled. 

“I can barely hear you under that stupid mask. Speak up, extra. “ 

She groaned, she didn’t even feel like bothering at this point. All of the excitement from the night before had dwindled this morning as she had flipped out her old brick of a phone to find a text from Aizawa.

Aizawa: I’m getting you out. I don’t know what you’re involved in, but I’m working on emancipating you from KiboKoshi. Keep a low profile, you’ll have an ID and passport on your pillow when you get home tonight.

She hadn’t known how to respond, so she had just left it at that. Of course she dreamed of leaving the corporation, of escaping from the clutches of Kira, of never having to confront Chia again. But the more she thought about being alone in the world, with no one to tell her what to do, the more her throat felt like closing.

Kirishima notes how quiet and still she had gotten as he glanced over, patting her awkwardly on what he thought was her knee (the cloak made it hard to tell). 

“You good?” He asked.

“Y-yeah. Whatever. I’m fine.” 

He hesitated, maybe she didn’t want to open up about it just yet. “Well, we currently work at Shouto’s agency, but it seems that Aizawa wants you to shadow Hitoshi Shinzo for today, he’s currently at Hawk’s agency, so we’ll be dropping you off there for today. Are you going to be okay by yourself?” Kirishima’s voice cracked with concern.

Akemi leaned against the glass window of the car, resting her head on the hard surface. “Yeah. I guess I’m just having a hard time processing it all.”

Kirishima chuckled. “Yeah I guess meeting the number 2 Hero is pretty overwhelming.”

“Ah, it’s not that. It’s just all...of this.” Akemi swept her arm, motioning towards the passing scenery and the crowded streets. “I’m not quite used to being outside.”

Kirishima furrowed his brows, parting his lips to ask more about what she meant.

“You’re not used to being outside? What are you, some kind of shut in otaku?” Bakugou pipped up from the backseat, sending another kick to Akemi’s chair.

She flinched, her knife slipping and slicing against the soft inside of her wrist. 

“Oh.” She remarked, pulling up her mask lightly and bringing the wrist up to her lips, suckling off the blood. 

“Hey are you okay dude? Watch it Bakugou, she almost severed her hand and she hasn’t even made it to her first patrol!” Kirishima shot Bakugou a withering look, quickly glancing back towards the street ahead. 

Bakugou watched the girl with hungry eyes, peering over her shoulder and noting the way she pressed her tongue against the slice. He quickly turned away, pulling his headphones on. “Yeah whatever, shouldn’t be messin’ with a knife in a moving car anyway.”

Kirishima parked by the side of a tall, sky scraper of a building. “We’re here, you need me to walk you in?” His crimson eyes were clouded in concern.

Akemi pulled the mask firmly over her face, taking a deep breath. “I’m okay.” She stated firmly, carefully climbing out of the car.

She was so, so far from okay. But it was too late to turn back now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this chapter! Sorry that I didn’t get to the action as quickly as I intended, I promise that next chapter will have more. :) please feel free to leave me any pointers in the comments.


	6. Pins and Needles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akemi get's mistaken for a man, yet again, and enjoys an explosive day out on the town with Shinso.

Akemi stared up at the imposing building as Kirishima’s car pulled away from the curb and made its way into the sunset. The skyscraper must have been at the very least 100 floors tall, it’s reflective glass exterior blinding in the harsh summer sun. Heroes, press-members and assistants darted in and out, a whirlpool of woolen suits and spandex leotards. Suddenly, Akemi felt her throat swell shut, a horrible tightness landing heavily within her stomach. She pushed her way through the crowd, flinching at each brush of a stranger’s arm or shoulder against her own. She had never been around this many people before, and could feel her breath quicken as she tried to focus on entering the roundabout doors. Clutching a hand at her throat, she cursed her heavy mask as her breaths came out shallow and she began to double over slightly, finding herself pinned between figures in the crowd.

“Excuse me…” She felt someone exhale lightly from behind her. “I believe the little bird needs some space.” Akemi quickly turned around, coming face to face with the person speaking. She was met with sandy blonde locks and a sideways smile, kohl-lined golden eyes staring down at her. Two red wings flashed open from behind him, shoving several people aside, as he effortlessly picked her up bridal-style and pushed himself off of the sidewalk, propelling himself into the air.

“What the-” Akemi exclaimed, arms flinging about before finding purchase tightly wound around his neck. The man let out a hearty chuckle, his wings pounding against air as they climbed up towards the top of the building. Akemi couldn’t stop herself from screaming. She had an intense fear of heights, and found herself clawing at the man’s chest, opening up rips in his shirt with her sharpened nails.

“Hey, hey, little plague birdie. I appreciate a man that keeps himself well manicured, but please stop it with the talons.”

“I’m-” She screamed against the wind. “A fucking woman!” She didn’t know who to blame, Chia who had named her, or Aizawa for his consistency in using gender neutral pronouns. Either way, she was beginning to form a complex around the constant misunderstandings. Did she really look that masculine in her stupid garb?

The man cocked an eyebrow at her, surveying her thick cloak and mask, but alas he was unable to see any of her curves through the draped fabric. “My apologies then, little bird. But still, please retract your claws, we aren’t that close yet.”

Akemi blushed under her mask, returning her arms to their place around his neck as she attempted to control her breathing. She caught a glimpse of their destination--one of the window panels was not, in fact, a window, but an open balcony that extended beyond the towering structure. The Hero descended onto the platform with ease, curling the bright red wings up behind himself as he lowered a still-gasping Akemi to the ground. She found herself fighting to catch her breath, her arms still tightly wound about the man’s legs.

He smiled awkwardly. “Um, maybe try removing your mask? It tends to be easier to breathe without something, you know, covering your mouth.”

Akemi shook her head. “I…” She took heavy breaths. “Can’t. I’m not…” Two more heavy pants escaped her. “...allowed to.”

His eyebrows knitted together. “Who the hell is telling you what you are and aren’t allowed to do? Aizawa said you were 18, right?” She shook her head, that ever present pool of jealousy in her stomach beginning to churn. “You don’t... understand...I can’t...I’m...sorry.” She finally let go of his legs, leaning back against the floor as her breathing calmed.

“Hey, don’t apologize to me. Didn’t mean anything by it, just...don’t think that people can just order you around, you know?” He looked down at her pensively, thinking about how to calm the anxious pool of wool and leather that sat before him. “Hey, kid, uh, sorry that I scared you on your first day here...want an autograph? It’s the least that i could do.”

Her mask-clad face glanced up at him. “Oh, I’m sorry, who are you?”

The man did a double take, the pen that had been at the ready in his hand falling with a clatter onto the floor. “I’m sorry, you...don’t know who I am?”

Akemi shook her head, still preoccupied with getting her breathing back to normal.

“I’m uh...Hawks...you know, number 2 hero, owner of this agency…”

She quickly snapped up to her feet, bowing deeply as a red flush covered her cheeks. “I’m so sorry! I’m not that well acquainted with many of the popular heroes nowadays. I should have recognized you, my apologies sir.” When she was at the Compound, there was really only ever mention of one Hero, All Might. She wasn’t given too much information on the man, but had understood that he must be strong, given that her battle simulation stats were always being compared to his. That mostly ended with her being severely punished for not nearing his scores, and she had grown to resent the Hero, just a little.

Hawks had no idea how to process the small figure in front of him. While he typically wasn’t the self absorbed type, he had felt a pang of embarrassment to hear that the trainee Aizawa had brought in hadn’t even heard of him. “Yeah, no it’s fine. Well haha now you’ve met me! It’s nice to meet you Akemi.” He reached out and shook her hand, surprised at the pressure of her grip. “Nice to meet you sir.” She responded meekly.

He rubbed the back of his neck self consciously. “You don’t have to call me sir, Hawks is fine.”

She nodded in understanding. “Okay, Hawks. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.” A soft knock echoed about the office. Hawk’s face widened into a smile. “Ah! Just in time. Come on in, Shinso.”

The door cracked open, and a tall, purple haired man walked in. His heavy-lidded eyes glided from the pro-Hero to the small figure in front of him, taking in the awkwardness of the air between them. “Hey, I’m presuming you’re Akemi, the guy that was set to shadow me today?” Shinso tilted his head slightly, glancing at the ridiculous outfit of the short man that stood before him. Akemi’s hands balled up into fists as she opened her mouth to retort, but Hawks interjected, sensing her stress.

“This young lady,” He directed a pointed glance at Shinso. “is Akemi, and yeah, she’ll be shadowing you today.” Shinso’s blank stare remained the same as he gave Akemi another glance, his eyes landing on her hands. _Feminine_ , he thought, _I should have noticed_. He bowed at the woman, hands clasped in front of him. “I’m Hitoshi Shinso, I see you’ve already met Hawks.”

Hawks noted the hesitation as Akemi glanced up at him. “He just goes by Shin, as his Hero name. Didn’t want anything that could give his Quirk away.” Akemi nodded in understanding, a curiosity for the blankly staring man blooming within her. Hawks jumped as the ting of a notification rang through the air, and glanced down at his phone. “Shit, gotta go. I have a press conference in 20. Shinso, please hold off on giving Akemi a tour of the facilities until after you go on patrol, it seems that she doesn’t like crowds too much. I’ll talk to you later.” With that, the number 2 Hero propelled himself out of the balcony, leaving behind the scent of sandalwood and a whirlwind of red feathers.

Shinso turned around, glancing expectantly over his shoulder. “You coming? I gotta go on patrol sooner rather than later.” Akemi hesitated before running after him, her mind left fuzzy as she thought about the care that Hawks had exemplified when letting Shinso know of her crowd anxiety. She wasn’t accustomed with people thinking about her like that.

After hours of wandering about, the pair found themselves walking down yet another empty street, and Akemi couldn’t help but wonder if the pro-Hero had purposefully sent them to a less densely populated district on purpose. Suddenly, she felt a pair of eyes burning into her, as she glanced up and made eye contact with her temporary mentor.

“So…” She noted how...creamy the man’s voice sounded. “...what is your purpose in tagging along? Aizawa said you aren’t enrolled in any Hero academy. What do you get out of this?” The apprehension practically dripped from his sugar-spun voice.

Akemi flicked out a small blade from her pocket, focusing on jiggling it into the underside of her cuff to distract her from the pressure of the man’s gaze. “I...guess I’m just interested in the day-to-day life of a Hero, beyond just the battles. I really can’t say much else. My...adoptive father wanted me to have more experience before advancing me in my career.” As she babbled nervously, she felt the blade pry at the last slab of gemstone within her right cuff. _Finally_ , she thought. She still wouldn't be able to do anything too fancy with her Quirks, but she at least felt safer knowing that she could access some of her power at a base level.

“And what kind of career would that be?” Akemi glanced up and found that they were in an alleyway, Shinso suddenly halting as he pressed a hand against the wall, boxing her in. She swallowed, hard, as she stared up into his eyes. She suddenly noticed how similar his hairstyle was to Aizawa’s, pulled into a half-up, half-down bun, and wondered if they had worked together previously. The hairstyle and his thick woolen scarf definitely seemed to hint at it. The heavy mask covering half of his face made it difficult to discern his facial expressions, and Akemi glanced away in embarrassment.

“I’m really sorry, I can’t say. If you are close with Aizawa, I’m sure you can get confirmation from him as to my...trust-worthiness. I know it’s a lot to ask but-”

“What’s your Quirk?” The man interjected, not budging from his imposing spot, leaning closer against the young woman. “I-uh, don’t have...one...really.” She tripped over her words, trying to find a way to lie and not lie at the same time. Guilt burrowed its way into her mind.

“You are trying to tell me that you’re sitting in front of me, dressed like an absolute loon, shadowing a Hero, with no Quirk?”

Before she could answer, a large **bang** rang through the air, and Shinso found himself propelling down the alleyway before crumpling to the ground with a heavy groan.

“HOLE IN ONE!” Exclaimed a loud voice. Akemi’s gaze flickered up to meet the slate grey eyes of a short man that stood at the entrance to the alley, his canon-like right arm extended in front of him.

“Don’t be so quick to celebrate, we still have one to go.” A monotone voice droned from the man to his left. He was tall, almost eight feet, his shaven head glinting in the light.

“Whatever Koshi, the pipsqueak will be easy.” The short man re-extended his arm, closing his right eye as if to aim.

As a loud boom rang out, Akemi quickly rolled forward to avoid the canon-ball, feeling the breeze of the heavy projectile as she barely missed it. The man grunted, cocking his arm back as if to reload an imaginary firearm.

“Run!” Shinso groaned, clutching his side and slipping against the concrete as he tried to push himself up, in vain. The taller man, Koshi, leaned up against the wall in indifference as the grey-eyed man repositioned himself. “Make it quick, Al. I don’t feel like spending too much of my day killing off low level heroes like this.”

 _Shit_ , Akemi glanced about herself. _Shit shit shit shit_. She wondered if she could run, she was probably faster than the two men that blocked her way. She could definitely scale the walls of the alleyways, at the very least. But then her gaze returned to Shinso, his breathing shallow as he struggled to rise from the ground.

 _Kira is going to beat the everliving shit out of me_.

Shinso’s heavy lids shot up as he heard the clattering of metal against concrete. Akemi had emptied out the inner pockets of her cloak, dozens of knives, daggers and needles falling to the ground.

“Aw you think we’ll spare you if you lay down your weapons?” The grey-eyed man, Al, chuckled. “‘Fraid not, we aren’t exactly the white-flag type.”

With a hitched breath, Akemi pulled back her hood, pastel blue-grey hair whipping about in the wind. Shaky fingers ripped off her mask, dropping it to the ground before reaching back up to unbutton her cloak.

“Aw, doll, we appreciate you letting us look at that pretty little face of yours. Hey, Koshi, look. The little minx thinks giving us a strip tease will save her life. Well, you’re still gonna die, but maybe if you do a good job, I’ll make it quick.” Al barked this at her, a sickening grin pulling at his lips.

Shinso’s breath caught in his throat as his eyes took in the woman before him. Her thighs, which were right in his line of sight, were criss-crossed by leather garters, blades pressed firmly against her milky white skin. When her long hair swayed in the breeze, he caught sight of the criss-cross of scars along her toned shoulders. His eyes trailed to the dimples on the small of her back, before snapping back to reality. _She’s going to get herself killed_ , the thought rang in his mind, _she doesn't even have a Quirk._ He desperately turned to Al. “Hey, you fucker, do you really think-”

But the men were too busy staring down the young woman to take notice of him. It was at times like this that he cursed himself for not having a more physical Quirk. He desperately pushed at the panic button in his pocket, hoping that Hawks could get there in time to rescue them.

“Now, boys.” The purr of Akemi’s throat as she addressed the Villains caught Shinso off guard. It was deeper, huskier, than the meek voice that she had used with him. He found himself wishing that she would speak with him in that way.

“Do you really think you can take it?” She mused, pulling a blade from the holster at her right thigh, a thin streak of blood being trailed up her thigh as she grazed it against her skin. Al chuckled. “You’re the one that has to worry about being able to take it, bitch.” He raised his arm again, steadying himself.

 **BOOM**.

Shinso braced himself as the scene before him played out in slow motion. The cannonball flung itself at Akemi, and Shinso readied himself for a sickening crunch. At the last moment, Akemi swung herself around, her shin making contact with the steel. A loud crash echoed about the alleyway, as the ball swung into and through the brick wall beside her, thrown off course by her kick.

“What the fuck?!” Al screamed. Before he could prepare for another blast, Akemi brought her leg down onto the concrete, the blades at her feet pushed into the air as the ground shook under her impact. She raised her right arm, the blades continuing to float upwards with it as they remained suspended in the air. A nonchalant flick of her wrist sent them careening towards the two men.

 _Yep_ , she thought, _definitely getting punished_. But the familiar rush of adrenaline through her body pushed aside any hesitation within her. She crouched herself down low, propelling herself towards the villains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all of your comments and Kudos! Please don't hesitate to give me any feedback in the comments. It's kind of tricky for me to combine a super reverse-harem-y type of smut with an actual plot and action, but I always wished that there was more of that genre on the market anyways so I'm hoping that it will at least be appreciated by a few peeps. :)


	7. Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fight ensues, and Shinso grows suspicious

Shinso had never seen someone with a Telekinetic Quirk fight like Akemi did. Typically, users of telekinesis were long range fighters with their weak physicality being their downside. 

Akemi was the exact opposite. 

She kept herself close to each assailant, her already small frame crouched low, almost feral. He watched as she manipulated the daggers behind the men, pulling them through their backs with a flick of the wrist. The two men hissed in pain, scuttling to dodge the projectiles.

The short man let out another shot from his arm cannon, wincing as several blades found purchase in his back and thighs.

She swiftly dodged the attack, dancing between the blades that swirled around her with a practiced ease. Koshi ran towards her, a fist raised as his skin hardened into a reflective, scaly armor. Akemi ducked, her leg kicking at the man’s knee. He crumpled down towards the ground, letting out a groan. Noting that her blades would do nothing to the armored Villain, Akemi raised her elbow as though to slam it into the man’s stomach. 

Al noted her preoccupation with his companion, taking his chance to send a cannon hurling her way. She let out a gasp as it hit her square in the chest, winding her and sending her crashing back into a heap by Shinso’s side. The purple haired man reached out and placed a hand on her arm as she tried to pull herself up. 

“Stop, help is on the way.” He whispered, giving her arm what he hoped was a tender and reassuring squeeze.

“Fuck that.” She grunted, eyes still on the two men that had begun making their way towards the injured pair.

Shinso glanced up as a few crimson feathers floated down onto the pavement he laid on. Hawks was hovering mid-air, eyes staring down at the scene below, eyebrows knitted together. “What the hell are you doing? Help her!” He called out, but the pro-Hero continued to watch with anticipation.

Akemi pulled herself up, letting out a yelp as she felt her stomach churn. Fighting the urge to vomit, the grey-haired woman ran back towards the men, sending a larger blade sinking into the chest of the short man to her right. She propelled herself up, feet landing on the cannon-villain’s chest, before twisting her body and jumping off of the man’s torso, pulling the blade out with her. 

Twisting herself in the air, she came to face the second villain, turning her body sideways at the last moment so that her thick thighs wrapped around the assailant’s throat. Using her momentum, she flipped forward, the man flying through the air before landing on his stomach.

Shocked by the impact, the man’s iron shield faltered, skin turning back to it’s beige tone. Taking her chance, Akemi pulled his right arm into an armlock.

And twisted.

**Hard.**

Shinso heard a sickening pop as the man’s arm was pulled from his socket, his screams echoing down the alleyway. With a flick of the wrist, Akemi had sent several blades down on him with such force that they pinned him to the pavement below. From the corner of her eye, she noted that Al had stood back up, and was hobbling towards the exit of the alley. As she stood up, she nonchalantly sent a blade flying. He froze as it cut a deep gash in his cheek. 

“Don’t you fucking take another step, sir. I asked you if you could take it. You didn’t answer.” Her voice came out venomous, sending confused shivers down Hawk’s spine as he watched from above. 

The villain turned around slowly, shaking violently in fear as he met her gold-encircled emerald eyes. “N…No I can’t take it.” He whimpered. 

She regarded him coldly. Her body shivering in disgust as she remembered the lewd comments he had made towards her earlier. “In my limited experience, it seems that men always talk big but never deliver. Here I am,” In a flash, she had propelled herself to his side, blade in hand. “disappointed, yet again.” 

As she reached out, aiming to stab him directly in the heart, a strong pair of arms encircled her from behind. Hawks firmly pressed her against his chest, hands covering her own as he eased the dagger from her hand. “It’s okay now, I’m here, little bird. You did good.” Suddenly, all of the blades that had been suspended in the air behind them came crashing down onto the pavement below as Akemi’s breath hitched in her throat.

“Shinso-” Hawks called over his shoulder to the purple-haired man, who had just begun to pull himself up off of the ground. “-are you able to come here and help the little lady? I’ll take care of these two idiots.” He motioned towards the villains, Shinso nodding in response. Hawks handed her off to him tenderly, her body pressing against the taller mans’ chest as she let out a muffled sob. 

Shinso paused for a moment, before raising a hand to gingerly pat her head. “I thought you said you didn’t have a-” He began, but felt shivers up his spine and glanced up to see Hawks sending him yet another menacing look. He quickly tried to correct himself. “I-I’m sorry Akemi. You did great, that was really amazing out there.” She pulled away from him, wincing before stumbling back into his arms.

“I know you probably just want to go home, but we’ll have to make a pit-stop at the med bay, is that okay?” The grey-haired woman nodded lightly in response, her hands clutching at Shinso’s shirt. 

Of course she was shaken up by the encounter, her first real battle outside of the Compound, but more so she was terrified of Kira. He would find out, she just knew it. She wasn’t sure if she had activated enough of her Quirk for the system to send him an alert, especially with one cuff incapacitated, but she wondered wether she could convince the two Heroes to keep silent about their experience. But even beyond them, it was impossible that there hadn’t been witnesses, or that the villains wouldn’t gossip about the mysterious hero that had defeated them.

As Shinso gently guided her into the passenger seat, he suddenly noted the metal rings that encircled the girl’s wrists and ankles. Too thick and bulky to be bracelets, they looked like handcuffs without the chain. He realized that she had been picking at one with her knife earlier, and decided to bring up the suspicious accessories to Aizawa when they got back.

The ride to the med bay was tense. Akemi had curled up against the passenger-seat window, hands rubbing up and down her shoulders as she fought to stifle her cries. Shinso felt like a fish, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly as he tried to come up with the correct words of comfort for the young woman. _She obviously has combat training,_ he thought, _so why is she so shaken up about this? Could this have been her first fight? But that doesn’t feel right, either. She definitely has fought people in life-threatening situations before, she doesn’t fight like someone who’s only ever gone up against a punching bag._

As much as he knew that this wasn’t the appropriate time to ask questions, Shinso couldn’t help himself. Too much about her was suspicious, and even the thought of Aizawa getting hurt by someone who was secretly colluding with villains made his skin crawl. Shinso wasn’t going to put his mentor in harm's way simply because the pretty girl was crying. Akemi gasped as the car suddenly careened off of the road and into an empty parking lot, grunting at the force of the seatbelt on her battered chest as the man slammed on his breaks.

“Now,” The purple haired man turned to face her. “ you’re going to tell me what the hell is going on.” Akemi felt his eyes burn into her, curling into herself more as she pressed her body against the door. She felt like kicking open the door, running off into the street and back to the Compound. She was tired of the need to dance around everyone’s questions, and knew that she was quickly running out of lies to tell. 

Shinso watched as the girl stared down at her ankles in silence, clutching to the cloak that lay in her lap. “You’re going to have to answer me at some point. I’d honestly rather not have to use violence to get a straight answer out of you, but I will if necessary.” 

“I...I can’t--” She whimpered in response. 

Something about the spark in the girl’s eyes unsettled him. He struggled to pinpoint what emotion it entailed, until it finally clicked. Her eyes reflected a primal fear. The type of fear that paralyzed someone. _She isn’t scared of me_ , the realization dawned on him, _she’s scared of someone else._

She had to be a villain, right? If she wasn’t working for a villain, who else could make her feel this scared?

He awkwardly reached out to brush a stray hair from her cheek, pulling back when she flinched at his touch. He suddenly recalled the scars that criss-crossed her shoulders. _Layered_ , he thought, _her scars are layered, they didn’t occur all at once_. “Are you in...trouble?” She nodded hesitantly in response. 

“Which villain are you working with? I can see if we can offer you protec-”

She turned to glare at him. “I’m not working with a villain. I-...” She glanced back at the rings of metal around her wrists. “I can’t tell you, I’m sorry. I wasn’t supposed to use my Quirk, and now my...family will be upset with me. And, I’m scared of them. I’m really really scared.” She leaned back into her seat, her hand resting against her forehead. “People keep telling me that since I’m an adult now, they can’t tell me what to do, or hurt me. But they can.”

“Hurt you?” He asked, his hand moving to lightly trace a scar that peeked over her shoulder. 

She moved forward, as though to pull away, before tentatively letting him run his thumb lightly over the raised skin. “Yeah.” She glanced over at him, suddenly embarrassed. “I guess that not all families are like mine, haha. This has been my first time out on my own...ever, really. And I don’t know how you do it. How do you know what to do, if someone else isn’t telling you to do it? How do you know what’s right?” 

He saw her bottom lip quiver, lightly, and realized just how small the woman in front of him looked. He knew that she wasn’t a weak person, the fight she was in earlier proved as much, but she was letting herself be vulnerable in this moment. Letting herself be vulnerable in front of him. He felt a pang in his chest. “You don’t, you learn to find agency, to justify your own decisions. You learn when to choose what you want, and when to choose what others want. It’s not exactly easy, but you should never have to follow someone else’s wishes just because you have their blood, right?” He responded, his hand falling from her shoulder and returning to the leather steering wheel. 

She sighed, trying to internalize his response. “But blood is thicker than water, right?” Akemi asked, staring down at the plague mask, which had fallen onto the floor of the car. She remembered how Chia had whispered that saying in her ear at night. _We are the only people who really care_ , she had chided, _why would anyone else help you, Akemi? Tell me, who else even remember's your real name?_

“Actually-” Shinso’s smooth voice cut through her thoughts as she turned to look at him, noting that he was pulling the car back onto the main road. “-the full quote is ‘the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb’. It doesn’t really mean that familial bonds are greater, it actually implies that the blood shed with your brethren in battle creates a stronger tie than just being born into someone’s family.”

Akemi’s eyes lingered on him, before she glanced back at the mask on the floor. “Let Aizawa know,” She threw her cape into the back seat. “that tomorrow I can give him some more information. I think.” Her heart beat loudly in her chest, reverberating in her ears. 

_I’m about to do something really stupid, aren’t I?_ But she guessed that now was as good of a time as ever to start making her own choices. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that it took me so much longer to write this chapter. A lot has been going on in my personal life, and I've been feeling too overwhelmed to write. Thanks so much for everyone who has bookmarked my work or given me kudos, it honestly means the world to me. 
> 
> At first I published really short chapters because I was really unsure of myself, and was basically just working on this fic when I was in line at the store or in my spare time, but as I start to fall in love more with my OC, I really want to work on delivering longer, better-written chapters when I can. So instead of posting daily or every other day, I mostly will be posting weekly or twice a week. As I write more and figure out about how long it takes me to write and edit a chapter, I'll start to form an actual posting schedule. 
> 
> I greatly appreciate everyone who comments as well. I have a hard time really conceptualizing the idea of someone actually reading my work, haha, so it helps to be able to interact with you guys. Plus I really love going onto my reader's profiles and reading their work as well. <3


	8. Invitations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akemi receives a proposal from Hawks, and then proceeds to get more than a little drunk with her coworkers

“Well then, it seems that you have broken several ribs, and a hairline fracture on your clavicle, but you’ll live.” The doctor peered at Akemi over her spectacles before adding. “But I do see that you’re reacting to my healing Quirk incredibly slowly. That is a little concerning to me, does your Quirk have any drawbacks that might be related to this?”

Akemi was about to shake her head, but hesitated. “Um, yeah. My Quirk makes it so that I heal slowly if I overexert myself.” It was a lie, but close enough. Although overuse of her Quirk did make her exhausted to a debilitating extent (which, in turn, makes it harder for **anyone** to heal), it was the bands that still encircled her extremities so tightly that were slowing down her healing progress. 

Shinso seemed to doubt the grey-haired woman’s response, noting how she glanced down at her cuffs. “So,” the doctor turned to face the man. “please make sure that you let her get rest. She needs to be in bed for at least the next two days, and shouldn’t do much physical activity for at least a week. Typically it would only take someone about 48 hours to fully recover from these injuries, but since my Quirk doesn’t work on her at its full potential, it’s better to be safe than sorry.” He nodded in understanding, gingerly helping Akemi stand up as she groaned in pain.

Shinso redirected Akemi to the now empty lobby of the agency’s on-site clinic. “Can you wait here for a sec? I’ll pull the car around and drop you back off where you’re staying. I’d hate for you to have to catch a ride in your...sorry state.”

Akemi chuckled. “Do I look that bad? Big oof.” 

Shinso ran a hand through his hair, tugging his half-bun into place. “I mean, you still look like a beautiful woman. Just...a pretty beat up beautiful woman. I shouldn’t be long, you should sit down while you wait.” He hurried out to the parking lot, his ears slightly tinged red. 

Suddenly, Akemi felt her phone vibrate. She pulled it out, flipping the old contraption open.

 **Kira** : Not even three days and you have already broken your promises. We **will** be talking about this, Akemi. Don’t make any plans tomorrow. You have let me down, and embarrassed me in front of the board.

 _Shit_. She thought she would at least have a whole day before he found out. She wondered who had told him? Had he simply had someone tailing her this entire time? What rules had he exactly noticed that she had broken? Did he know that she had been tampering with her cuffs? She tried to think back to where exactly the black jewel that she had popped out of her right cuff had fallen, she would have to retrieve it and set it back in, hoping he wouldn’t inspect them.

She suddenly felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, twisting around to come face-to-face with Hawks’ golden irises. She swallowed heavily as she noticed his eyes dart towards her phone, slamming it closed and slipping it back into her pocket. 

“Why hello, Mr. Number 2 Hero.” 

“Don’t be so cold, birdie. You know to call me Hawks.” He smiled, his hand patting her on the head. She felt her breath catch in her throat, wanting him to continue running his hands through her hair. “I came to thoroughly thank you for saving Shinso’s ass. Although I’m sure that he would have found a way to survive anyway, at least he didn’t have to get his hands dirty.”

Akemi stared down at her feet, suddenly hyper-aware of the absence of her cloak and mask, which remained in Shinso’s car. Next to the shining, handsome disposition of the Pro-Hero, she felt terribly plain, especially taking into account the heavy patch of bandages that had been wrapped around her torso. “I’m really sorry for getting too involved in your Hero business, I shouldn’t have even used my Quirk-”

“That-” Hawks extended his wings over Akemi, shielding them both in a semi-cloak of privacy. “-is what I wanted to speak with you about. I was told that you were Quirkless, and that you weren’t in any Hero programs. By the looks of it, both of those aren’t exactly the truth. Now I know that you probably have your reasons, and I don’t want you to have to disclose more information than you’re comfortable with, but I think you get why I’m worried.” Akemi swallowed, noting that as Hawks was on the shorter side, their noses nearly touched as she stared up at him, pressed against him by his wings. 

Hawks noticed the red blush that grew on her porcelain cheeks, chuckling to himself as she averted his gaze. He felt a similar feeling grow within him as when she had been taking down those two villains, struggling to keep his thoughts on the task at hand. He needed to know if she was a plant by the villains (not that he hadn’t had his fair share of flings with villains, but still, the safety of his fellow Heroes was his priority). “I told Shinso earlier that I’m going to speak with Aizawa tomorrow…” She trailed off, taking a deep breath. _Where the hell did her confidence go when it actually mattered?_ Her eyes darted back to his, staring him down. “I can’t say much, because my life is in danger and-” She felt a hitch in her throat. “-it doesn’t have to do with the League of Villains. I know why you and Shinso are so aggressive about it but-”

He cut her off, his brow furrowing. “Shinso was aggressive? In what way?” He had tried to tell the man to be soft around her. No matter what their suspicions, she had just had a pretty volatile encounter with two villains, and was injured. Shinso knew better, he was typically very mature. Hawks would have to talk to him about his behavior later. “Well, he wasn’t trying to be mean. He just wanted to get the same information out of me that you are trying to get. I just can’t disclose much with you guys right now before speaking with Aizawa. I’ll be pun-” She stopped herself, grabbing at the fabric of her shorts in embarrassment. _Normal people don’t have to fear punishment when they become adults, she reminded herself, especially from their family_. 

The slip up didn’t go unnoticed, and Hawks tenderly cupped her chin with his fingers, tilting her head up to look at him in the eye. “I’m sorry, Akemi. We--I, don’t want to make you feel unsafe. I fully believe in you and your reasoning, and I’m here to keep you safe and support you. What kind of danger are you in? Do you live alone?” He thought for a moment, clearing his throat nervously. “I..if you do live alone, it might be better for you to stay with someone...maybe a hero...you can stay with me, if you’d like.” 

Akemi felt a familiar hum between her legs, and became awfully aware of the warmth of his sandalwood scent. “O-oh, actually Aizawa has boarded me with a couple of Heroes already-”

“Really?” Hawks replied, too quickly. “Um, who?”

“Kiri and Bakugou-”

His gaze snapped back down to her, red wings pulling her in even closer as he noticed the nickname that she used when referring to Red Riot. “Who? You did not just say that you are staying with those two. Has Bakugou said anything rude?” Hawks’ mind became flooded with scenarios in which Bakugou would bully the young woman, and a creeping sense of jealousy churned within him. 

Akemi paused for a moment, eyes widening and color flooding to her face. “N-no nothing has happened.”

Hawks groaned internally. With that reaction, all sorts of things must have happened. “Hey-” he turned her head back towards him, his thumb tracing the side of her jaw. She sucked in a breath. He leaned down and let out a breathy sigh in her ear, sending shivers up her spine, as his hand pressed against the small of her back. “-if you ever want to, my place is always open. Consider this an invitation to dinner, and you can open up about your situation when you feel comfortable.”

A sudden honk interrupted them before she could respond, Shinso signaling that he had pulled the car up to the entrance. In a second, Hawks had pulled back his wings, letting his hands linger where they were for a moment longer, noting how the woman didn’t pull back from his touch. 

He really hoped that she would take up his invitation.

“I’m assuming that Aizawa gave you my number. Feel free to call anytime, little dove.” He winked and walked into the elevator, leaving Akemi stunned as she felt her legs shake. 

_Well_ , she thought, _I definitely want to take up his invitation._

Another honk resonated outside of the building, this time longer, and Akemi rushed out of the building and into the car.

“Are you alright?” Shinso asked, staring forward as he turned the car out of the parking lot. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Akemi mumbled in response, fastening her seatbelt before pulling her knees up to her chest. Shinso noted how she averted his gaze, and wondered what his flirtatious superior had done. “Now, that isn’t a very safe position to be in, should we get in a wreck.” He motioned to her curled up form, eyebrow cocked. 

“Well then,” she rested her head on the glass. “I trust that you’re a good driver.”

A small smile pulled at his lips, and they spent the rest of the drive in a comfortable silence.

That comfortable silence was immediately shattered as they pulled up to the address she had provided.

“You’re staying with Bakugou?!” His hands gripped the steering wheel, his face contorting into a grimace. She twirled a lock of her hair between her fingers. “Um, yeah. Aizawa boarded me with him and Kiri.”

 _Another thing that I’ll have to speak with Aizawa about_ , Shinso groaned internally. 

“Have you told them about the incident earlier today?” Akemi shook her head in response. This time, he groaned out loud. “Well then, I’m walking you in.” He stepped out of the car, circling around and opening Akemi’s door for her, before bending down and helping her with her seatbelt. His breath fluttered against the exposed skin of her collarbone, and Akemi muffled a moan. 

Shinso pretended not to notice her reaction, taking her hand and helping her out of the car, her mask and cloak in his other arm. Akemi knocked on the door softly, and a clamor could be heard from the other side. 

Several large crashes and harsh whispers later, Bakugou swung the door open, calling back over his shoulder at Kirishima. “We don’t have to make such a big fuss over her first-” He cut himself off as he turned around and came face to face with the bandage-wrapped woman. “Yo what the fuck Shinso? She goes on ONE patrol with you and comes all beat up?” He regarded her with a mix of disinterest and mild annoyance, noting how her bandaged chest wrapped tightly enough to press her breasts together. 

Kirishima suddenly came crashing over before Shinso or Akemi could reply, shoving the blonde man out of the way. “You’re hurt? Oh my god what happened to you?!” He grabbed her hands in his, pulling her inside and guiding her to the couch. Akemi noticed that a pizza sat on the coffee table, alongside several bottles of vodka and some board games. It seems that Kirishima had wanted to set up a sort of “Happy First Patrol Party”. She suddenly felt guilty at her sorry appearance. Shinso groaned, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “Well if you have to know, we were accosted by two villains, but Akemi fought them off, single handedly might I add.” 

Bakugou glanced over at the beaten up woman, who sat awkwardly on the couch, trying to ignore everyone’s gaze. “Yeah, right. That bitch doesn’t even have a Quirk. Actually, I take it back. It makes sense that she would be the one to defeat a villain over you, just goes to prove why you weren’t in the Hero program back-”

“Man let it go, that was literally years ago. I’m an actual pro-Hero right now, are you just going to keep bringing this up?” Shinso snapped back, cooly maintaining eye contact with the hot headed Hero. 

“H-hey guys lets just cool it, Akemi is really hurt and I wanted this night to be for her.” Kirishima interjected, trying to pry Bakugou back from Shinso.

“No, let’s fuckin’ go now. I’m interested in how long this talkin’ asshole will last once I send an ex-”

“Everybody shut the hell up!” Akemi’s voice cut through the tension of their argument, the three men turning to look at her. “I’m really sore, incredibly hungry, and just want to take my mind off of today. So the three of you guys better get over here and start drinking and having a good time.” She grabbed one of the bottles of vodka and quickly took a swig, the men shuffling over to their place at the couch in awkward shame. 

Kirishima was quick to pour everybody a shot, his hand rubbing Akemi’s back in a comforting way as he noted how tense she was. 

“Alrighty everybody, cheers!” Akemi cried, quickly swallowing the shot. It tasted like pure bleach, and she grimaced. It probably wasn’t wise for her to drink so much, especially since she had never had hard liquor before, but she found herself enjoying the light feeling in her stomach and thighs, and quickly found her head resting on Kirishima’s shoulder as Shinso recounted the day’s events. 

“Holy shit, light-wash. Not gonna lie, I won’t believe it ‘till I see it.” He glanced at the woman, trying to suppress the urge to challenge her to a fight. She was preoccupying herself with taking another shot, a tell-tale red splattered against her shoulders and nose. 

“Well, I definitely am not gonna be using my Quirk for a while, but don’t underestimate me, bomb-boy.” She threw a wink his way, prompting him to cough awkwardly and stare at his drink, before slamming down another shot. “Is that a fuckin’ challenge, bitch?”

Shinso rolled his eyes. “Could you please stop calling her a bitch, Bakugou.” He regarded his own drink, swaying slightly. “But, yeah. She definitely can fight without her Quirk. You should have seen this one take down she used. It was hot-” Shinso caught himself, burying his face in his hands. “I mean it was very impressive, Akemi. I’m sorry.” 

She chuckled in response. “Yeah? Wanna see it again?” 

He shook his head. “N-no there’s no ne-”

“Abso-fuckin’-lutely bitch. Come on, right here, right now. Take me down.” Bakugou took a swig straight from the bottle, positioning himself in the middle of the living room. 

Typically, Akemi would have known better than to even acknowledge his ego. But she was enjoying the warmth in her belly and her lightheadedness. She stood up, unconsciously running her hand through Kirishima’s hair as she did so. He mumbled something under his breath, covering up a groan. Shinso looked her up and down, noting how she swayed lightly. “Hey, Akemi, you’re hurt. I don’t think that you should-”

“You’re on, Baku-bitch.” She sauntered over to the taller blonde man. 

“Hey, light-wash, don’t think you can call me that and that I won’t retaliate. I’m a fuckin’ immovable force!” He puffed his chest, beaming proudly.

Akemi moved up to him, pressing her hand against his chest, prompting a blush. “Hey Bakugou, have I ever told you how handsome I think you are?” Her green eyes were half-lidded, her voice breathy.

Bakugou stuttered for a moment, taken back by the change in her disposition. “Uh, well…”

In a flash, Akemi had propelled herself off of the ground, wrapping her thighs tightly around his throat and slammed him to the ground. Bakugou let out a groan of pain, bringing his hands to grip her thighs, trying to pry them from his throat.

“That was so badass Akemi!” Kirishima jumped from his seat, eyes sparkling. “Could you teach me how you did that?”

Akemi relaxed into a pile of laughter, letting herself lay against the carpeted floor. “Thanks Kiri, I definitely can whenever you’d like.”

Bakugou noticed that he was still gripping onto her thighs, which rested on his shoulders. He was overwhelmed with embarrassment, and something more primal that churned in his stomach. Suddenly, he turned his head and sunk his teeth into Akemi’s bare inner-thigh. The woman let out a loud moan, which she quickly tried to stifle. “What the hell, Bakugou?!” She pulled herself away from him, blushing at the sound that she had made.

Shinso stared down at the blonde man in amusement, noting how he wiped his mouth and avoided looking Akemi in the eye. _Holy shit_ , Shinso thought, _does he feel threatened by her or sexually aroused?_

“Yo, Bakugou that wasn’t cool! What’s going on with you?” Kirishima rushed to help Akemi up. Akemi was embarrassed by the pounding of her heart, and clutched to Kirishima as he lowered her back onto the couch. 

“Whatever,” Bakugou responded, staying kneeling on the ground. “She only took me down because I’m drunk.”

Kirishima was about to retort, when a drunk Shinso interrupted. “You know what would be a great idea?” 

“What.” Bakugou asked flatly.

“We should play truth or dare.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has been so patient and encouraging with me! The next chapter is basically going to be 100% smut, I hope that is alright with everyone.


	9. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akemi gets even drunker, and finds herself in a state of undress.

“Absolutely no-” Bakugou began to retort, but Akemi quickly intervened. “Yes! Oh my god yesssss that is an amazing idea.” She drunkenly fell against Kirishima, giggling as she added. “I knew that you were cool.” 

Kirishima’s face split into a grin as he attempted to calm himself down. “Okay then! Who goes first?” He was unsure as to where to put his arm, so he settled on safely wrapping it around Akemi’s shoulders.

Shinsou took another shot, slamming it down on the table. “I think that the tallest person should go first.” 

“That’s not faiiiiiiiiir.” Akemi whined, a pout settling on her lips as she crossed her arms. Bakugou stared at her breasts as Akemi squeezed them together, attempting to do so discreetly but not succeeding in his drunken state. Kirishima kicked his leg, Bakugou’s eyes refocusing on the task at hand.

Shinsou smiled sloppily in Akemi’s direction, and she suddenly realized how delicious his smile was. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly downed another shot of liquid courage. “Fine then, I’ll just be content going last, or whatever.”

“So-” Shinsou settled into the chair that he was sitting in, his hands folded neatly on his lap. “-the order is as follows: I go first, then Bakugou, then Kirishima, then Akemi.”

Bakugou took another swig from what had quickly become his personal bottle of liquor. “You’re barely half an inch taller than me, you fuckin’ grape. Don’t get too cocky.”

Shinsou’s eyes narrowed at the insult, but he chose to ignore it. “So,” he glanced about the room, before he settled on his target. “Bakugou, truth or dare?”

The blonde rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Fuckin’ dare, do you take me for some kind of pussy?”

Shinsou’s predatory smile reappeared. “Okay, Bakugou, I’ll start off the night being kind. I dare you to act like a cat for the next 4 minutes.”

Bakugou’s confidence faltered, rage sparking in his eyes. “Fuck you say, asshole?”

“I said-” Shinsou leaned forward in his chair. “-act like a cat, for 4 minutes. It’s an easy dare, or were you wanting to pussy out?”

“Well how the fuck do cats even act?” Bakugou stood up, fists clenched at his sides. 

“Get on all fours!” Akemi excitedly added in between giggles. “You have to be on all fours, and meow.” 

Bakugou quickly took another swig, before lowering himself onto the ground, one hand poised at his mouth. A deep crimson had spread on his face, and he avoided making eye contact with any of his guests. 

“M-mew…” He gave his knuckles a quick lick. 

Akemi jumped up from the couch, ruffling Bakugou’s hair. “Good kitty!” She scratched behind his ear, sending a shiver up his spine.

“My clothes are getting uncomfortable since I’ve been in them…” She wobbled as she made her way to the stairs. “A-all day. So imma go change real quick while Bakugou is being a good k-kitty, mmkay? Kiri, if you have some red wine, I would love some.” With that, she quickly stumbled up to her room.

As soon as he heard the door slam, Kirishima turned to the other two men. “Okay, some ground rules. You guys can’t dare her to do anything perve-”

“Abso-fuckin-lutely not, Kirishima.” Bakugou interjected, still on all fours on the floor. “No special treatment just ‘cause she’s a girl...mew.”

Shinsou smiled slyly. “I actually agree with the cat. No holds barred. What, you worried you’ll get too worked up, Kirishima?” 

The red-head grew flustered. “N-no I’m not saying that…”

Shinsou let out a laugh, trying to cover his mouth. “Listen, you guys are both basically panting after her. Nothing wrong with consenting adults having fun-”

“I’m not panting after nobody! Mew!” Bakugou interjected, scowling at the purple haired man.

“Yeah, okay, whatever you say. Y’all better take your opportunity while you can, I saw the way that she was staring at Hawks, he definitely got a head start.”

“Wait, that winged asshole did what now? What do you mean he got a head start?!” Bakugou growled.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, kitty-cat?” The purple haired man smirked down at Bakugou, who hesitantly gave another lick to his knuckles and added in another mewl.

“Aren’t you in the same position as us, Shinsou?” Kirishima interjected, seemingly sizing up his competition. 

Shinsou paused, seemingly taken aback. “W-what are you even implying, Kirishi-”

He was interrupted by a squeal and a crash as Akemi tumbled down the stairs. “I’m okay!” She called out, groaning as she pushed herself up from the floor. 

She stood up, hands trying to untangle her hair from the banister.

“Akemi, are you wearing…”

“Bakugou’s sweatpants? Yeah, Shinsou. I didn’t have any of my own so he lent me his.”

Shinsou shook his head in exasperation as Bakugou jumped to his feet. “Damn it, Akemi. You aren’t wearing a fuckin’ shirt. Are you already that wasted?”

Akemi looked down at the bandages that encircled her chest. “Yeah well I feel stuffy enough in this anyway…”

Kirishima returned from the kitchen with a full glass of red wine, startling as he took in Akemi’s state. “Um, if you feel more comfortable in that, then it’s fine…” He tried not to stare too much, memories of her pinned up against the wall flooding back to him. She settled down beside Kirishima on the couch, her legs curled up under her as she downed the merlot.

“Anyway!” Bakugou jumped up to his feet, briskly dropping himself down on the couch beside Akemi and pressing his body into hers. “We still have a game to play, damn it. It’s my turn, right?” Shinsou nodded, swirling his glass in his hand.

“Aight, Shinsou. Truth or dare?” 

“Booooo boring.” Akemi interjected. 

“Shut the hell up.” The blonde snapped. “Truth or dare?”

Shinsou considered it for a while, taking a sip from his glass. “Truth.”

“Okay asshat, when is the last time you got laid?”

Shinsou spat out his drink as Akemi and Kirishima lost it on the couch, clinging to each other as they burst into laughter. 

“That’s really none of your business.”  
Bakugou smiled back cockily. “Actually, it is. You picked truth.”

“Yeah, whatever…” Shinsou mumbled. “Two days ago.”

“You’re lying!” Bakugou snarled. 

“Am not. A sidekick.” Shinsou responded, before adding. “It’s Bubbles okay. I fucked Bubbles.” 

“NO WAY!” Kirishima leaned forward enthusiastically. “You fucked Kaoruko? Are you guys like a thing?!”

“Absolutely not, Kirishima. It was just a fling.” Shinsou responded, filling up his glass with more liquor.

“I’m sorry but I have absolutely no idea who-” Akemi hiccuped, taking another sip of her wine. “-who you are talkin’ about.”

“It seems that Shinsou has a thing for busty women.” Bakugou sneered. 

“You say that like it’s a bad thing…” Akemi pouted, whispering it into her glass.

“Okay okay my turn.” Kirishima turned to Akemi, heart pounding in his chest. “Truth or dare?”

“Hmmm…” Akemi seemed to consider it for a moment. “Well, I guess I’ll go with truth for now.”

“Well, umm...let’s see…” Kirishima mumbled pensively, taking a bite of a slice of pizza. “What’s your favori-”

“What’s your body count?!” Bakugou interjected, garnering a stunned silence from the other two men in the room. 

“It’s not your turn!” Kirishima groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Well it’s not my fault that you were gonna ask some boring ass shi-”

“Well,” The grey haired woman began, taking it upon herself to pour more merlot into her shoddy plastic cup. “I guess it’s 24.”

The men in the room went silent. 

“24?! I didn’t expect you to have more game than even Bakugou.” Shinsou laughed, throwing back his head. Bakugou sent a glare his way.

“I mean I guess if you count the simulations, it’s more like 482, but honestly I wouldn’t really count those as a ‘body count’, per se.” Akemi added, taking a sip.

Kirishima paused. “S...simulations??”

“Yeah, like the training sims. And the bots, you know.” She mumbled.

“I...do you know what a body count means?” Kirishima raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the busty woman.

“Um...I was assuming you meant like a kill count, right?” Suddenly hit by the awkwardness of the atmosphere, she began to nervously twiddle her thumbs.

Bakugou let out a bark of a laugh. “Oh...my...fuckin’...god…”

“I suddenly find myself terrified of you, Akemi.” Shinsou took a sip, eyes glancing down at the bands on her wrists. Maybe it was a good thing that he had come inside, it seemed that the drunker she got, the more willing she was to divulge information. 

“Okay well you did not answer the question, so you have to answer right this time. I’ll put it in simpler terms for you, you fuckin’ lightwash. How many people have you slept with?” 

Her face grew hot at the realization of her misunderstanding. She avoided the men’s gaze, staring down into her cup. “Can I like...choose dare...or something.”

“No what the hell do you think you’re doing, pussying out like that? Answer the question.” Bakugou leaned towards her expectantly, forcing her to push herself up against Kirishima.

“W-well…I guess...then that would be mmmm…” She mumbled the last part into her drink, slamming down the plastic cup.

“We didn’t hear you, come again?” Shinsou added, half lidded eyes staring back at her. 

“I said...um...none…” Akemi avoided Bakugou’s intense stare as she felt her ears turn red.

“None?!” Bakugou let out a bark, holding onto his sides as he doubled over. “You have to be kidding me, you’re a virgin?!” 

“Y-yeah well I’m sorry that I don’t exactly get out much…” Akemi took another shot, trying her hardest not to die from embarrassment. Kirishima noticed her discomfort and gave her side a reassuring squeeze. She couldn’t help but let her thoughts linger on how rough his hands felt against her skin.

“Hey..” Shinsou added cooly, leaning forward as he gave the woman a once-over glance. “No need to be self conscious. I’m sure Kirishima is a virgin too.”

The red head swung around to face Shinsou, eyes burning. “I absolutely am not!” 

“Have you even had your first kiss yet?” Shinsou ignored Kirishima’s response, subtly running a finger across his bottom lip as he stared her down.

“N-no...actually I haven’t…” At this point, Akemi was wishing that she could just curl up and die.

“Well then,” Bakugou interrupted, eyes intently staring down at Akemi, who he was basically straddling now as he pushed her against the red head. “Since you didn’t answer honestly the first time, we get another turn-”

“That’s not how the game works-” Kirishima tried to interject, but Bakugou shoved a hand against his mouth. 

“As I was saying, we get another turn. Truth or dare?”

Akemi slammed down another shot, hyper-aware of the warmth of the two men that pressed against her. “I guess I’ll do dare…”

“I dare you to take off an article of clothing.” Shinsou added cooly from his spot in the chair. 

“Hey it was my fuckin-” Bakugou barked back, fist raised.

“Actually it was technically my turn if we really want to go there.” Kirishima stated, fingers digging into Akemi’s sides. 

“Whatever,” Shinsou ignored the two men, his gaze steady on the woman that sat between them. “Any article of clothing, it’s your choice. But you have to remove it in front of us.”

Akemi swallowed, standing up hesitantly. _It’s not that big of a deal_ , she tried to convince herself, _two of these men have already seen you fully naked_. The blush on her cheeks deepened at the realization. As she stood in the middle of the room, she slowly hooked two fingers under her (technically Bakugou’s) sweatpants, pulling them down slowly. Shinsou maintained eye contact with the girl as she did so, subtly biting his lower lip. She stepped out of the pants, breath hitched in her throat. Bakugou turned to glance between the purple haired man and Akemi, swearing under his breath before pulling out his phone.

Kirishima couldn’t stop himself from staring at her as she nervously stood there. She was wearing a pair of cheeky black underwear, simple and made out of cotton, and he desperately tried to remember what she had looked like underneath. 

Shinsou stared her down, unflinching, before taking a finger up in the air and making a swirling motion.  
 ** _Turn around_** , it implied.   
Akemi felt a rush of warmth pool in her stomach, slowly twirling around for the man. 

“Not bad.” Shinsou finally stated, his voice breathy. “Well, I think it’s Miss Akemi-”

“You look tired,” Bakugou burst in, giving Kirishima a sharp elbow to the stomach. “I took the liberty of calling you an Uber. It’s waiting outside, I’ll see you out.” Bakugou didn’t wait for a response, dragging the purple haired man to the door and shoving him outside. 

Akemi stood in the middle of the room in a stunned silence. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Shinsou whispered to Bakugou as they stood outside. 

“I’m just saying, it seems like you’re pretty drunk and sleepy, so it’s time to get going.”

“Ohhhh, I get it. You saw the way that she was looking at me in there, huh?” Shinsou’s eyes glittered as he opened the door to his Uber. “No worries, I’m her patrol partner. I’ll _definitely_ be seeing more of her.”

“Shut the hell up, asshat. Go eat shit.” Bakugou slammed the door on Shinsou, turning back inside. 

“Okay, back to what we were saying. It’s your turn, Akemi.” Bakugou exclaimed, clearing his throat. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry! I promised smut but it's 100% coming next chapter, hahahaha


	10. Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The intense session of truth or dare continues.

“W-why’d you kick Shinsou outtt?” Akemi whined, now fully leaning against Kirishima’s chest. The red head was desperately trying to keep himself calm, hand covering his mouth as he stared intensely at the TV across from them.

“Because he obviously couldn’t control himself.” Bakugou stated, plopping himself down on the couch and taking another sip from his bottle. 

“W-what does t-that mean?” Akemi said between hiccups, her own plastic cup now refilled and resting at her lips.

“So it’s your turn, Akemi.” Kirishima interrupted, quickly stuffing another slice of pizza in his mouth. 

The grey haired woman swished around the liquid in her cup, thinking. “Kiri, then. Truth or dare?”

Kirishima paused. “Uhhh...truth.”

“Boring!” Bakugou barked, both Kirishima and Akemi choosing to ignore him.

“Okay then. You said you weren’t a...virgin. Who’d you lose your virginity to?” Akemi reached over and grabbed a slice of pizza for herself, carefully taking a bite as she turned to stare the red-head down.

From behind her, she heard Bakugou stifle laughter. 

Kirishima groaned, leaning back as his hand pulled through his hair. “You...you met her at the conservatory. Her name is Mina. Pink hair and skin?”

“Oh!” Akemi’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “The hot one!” 

Bakugou cracked up, wiping tears from his eyes. “You think she’s hot?”

Akemi scowled at him. “O-of course! I’d totally do her if I had the chance.”

Kirishima stiffened next to her. “You’d what?!”

“I’d do her. I mean I totally have a thing for girls with short hair.”

Kirishima blushed and looked away. “Y-yeah I guess she is kinda hot.”

“Okay, so it’s Bakugou’s turn right?” Akemi mumbled through bites of her pizza.

The blonde smirked, leaning forward towards Akemi. “Truth or dare, lightwash?”

She quickly set down her food, swallowing as she was pressed further against Kiri. “U-um dare I guess.” 

“Okay then, easy. Take off an article of Kirishima’s clothing, any that you want.”

Akemi sighed, taking a sip of her drink. _What an easy_ -

“With your teeth.” Bakugou cockily raised an eyebrow as he stared the woman down.

Akemi choked on her wine, face turning a bright red. Kirishima found his face flushed as well, as he turned to make eye contact with his best friend. _What the hell do you think you’re doing?_ Kirishima thought. Bakugou ignored him, a smirk on his lips.

Akemi awkwardly turned around to face Kirishima, trying not to make eye contact with him. He was wearing a basic t-shirt and a pair of sports shorts, so she opted to go for the shirt for now. “I-I’m sorry, Kiri.” Akemi mumbled as she lowered herself down.

Kirishima couldn’t tell if she was going for his shirt or shorts, and he felt himself stiffen in anticipation. Bakugou was busy staring at her from behind. As she bent down, her scantily-clad ass bent upwards in the air. Bakugou brushed a hand against her inner thigh, noting how she shivered at his touch. 

She took Kiri’s cotton tee in her mouth, her teeth grazing against his skin and causing him to stifle a moan. He couldn’t stop himself from staring down at her now, noting just how close to his groin she was. Her green eyes dazzled as she looked up at him, a flush across her small nose. _Fuuuuuuck_ , he loved the face she was making.

She hesitated as she pulled the shirt upwards, noting how chiseled Kirishima’s abs were, and the v-line that peeked out from under his shorts. She suddenly felt Bakugou slap her ass, steam filling the air as he used his quirk to give it an extra _sizzle_. Akemi couldn’t help herself, she let out a loud moan and shivered at the touch. 

“Hurry it up, lightwash. We ain’t got all night now.” Bakugou’s smile widened at her reaction, and he kept his hand on her ass-cheek, as though it was silently threatening to spank her again if she didn’t listen to his instructions. 

She got to work, embarrassed by both her reaction and the way that Kirishima was staring at her. She pulled the shirt upwards, pressing her chest up against Kiri’s as she brought the fabric up to his shoulders. She struggled to readjust herself, accidentally nipping the red-head’s neck as she lost grip of the shirt and had to bite back down on it. He shivered underneath her, his hands flying to grip her sides, thumbs rubbing her skin lightly.   
Akemi finished pulling the shirt upwards, fully straddling Kirishima by the end of it. As his shirt was pulled over his eyes, he suddenly found himself facing Akemi’s tightly bound breasts. Unable to resist any longer, he pressed his teeth into the skin at the base of her neck. 

Akemi let out a louder moan. “K-kirishima what are you d-doing?”

“Getting you back for scraping me with your teeth earlier.” He mumbled breathlessly into her skin. 

Kirishima’s arms were tangled in his shirt, mouth still suckling at her throat. Bakugou leaned forward, hands pulling the shirt off of Kirishima and onto the floor. His chest was pressed into Akemi’s back and ass, pushing her even closer to the red-head. Akemi grabbed the back of the couch with her right hand, her left going to steady herself against Kirishima’s chest before Bakugou grabbed it and swiftly pulled it behind her back. “I think,” Bakugou whispered into her ear. “That it’s Kirishima’s turn now, isn’t it?”

“Hmm...Yeah I think it is…” Kirishima said as he pulled back from her neck, satisfied with the purple mark that he had left on her. “Well then,” Kiri looked up at his best friend. “Bakugou, truth or dare?” 

Bakugou buried his head into the other side of Akemi’s neck, sucking as he became determined to leave a mark of his own. “Dare.” He growled into her skin. 

Akemi could feel the tell-tale tingling sensation between her legs, and forced herself to steady her breathing. “Okay then. It seems that we are making Akemi get all hot and bothered. Your hoodie might be too warm for her. Care to remove it?” Kirishima stifled a laugh as he said this, hands digging firmly into Akemi’s hips. 

“Sure thing.” Bakugou said gruffly. He took his hands away from Akemi’s, swiftly pulling the cord out of his hoodie. “Give me your other hand, kitten.” He whispered into her ear, roughly grabbing both of her arms and pulling them behind her back. She let out a whimper as she tried not to shiver visibly. The anticipation was too much for her.

He expertly tied her wrists together, the cord not too tight or too loose. _He’s done this before_ , Akemi thought, breath catching in her throat. 

With that taken care of, Bakugou swiftly pulled his hoodie up and over his head, tossing it to the floor beside the couch, his arms moving to encircle her waist. “Okay kitten, it’s your turn.” Bakugou’s lips brushed on her ear as he whispered this.

“U-uh...t-truth or dare, Bakugou?” 

“Ohhh...I think I’ll go with truth this time.” He nuzzled further into her neck, mischievous eyes glinting up at Kirishima. 

“W-what…” Akemi swallowed, she had begun pressing her thighs together in an attempt to quell whatever was stirring down there. “What’s your favorite food?”

“That isn’t interesting enough of a-” Kirishima began to say, but Bakugou cut him off by suddenly grabbing Akemi and flipping her over onto her back with ease. She blushed at her new position, laying in Kirishima’s lap with Bakugou straddling her.

“Well…” Bakugou began, his fingers thumbing the edges of her bandages. “...I’m partial to spicy foods.” He planted a kiss on her collarbone, his fingers now ripping the cloth on her chest slowly, pulling the bandages apart. “...I also like sweet cream and strawberries, though.” He finished ripping a line in the bandages, slowly trailing a line of kisses down the valley between her breasts. 

“But, so far I also like how you taste.” He added, pulling aside the cloths and exposing her breasts. Kirishima’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of Akemi’s nipples. They were a dark color that matched the natural blush of her lips, and stood erect as Bakugou traced his mouth over one of them. “My turn now.” Bakugou remarked, lightly nipping at her right nipple. Akemi let out a loud moan, arching her back and biting down--hard--on her lip. Bakugou growled at the reaction, taking more of the nipple into his mouth and sucking on it, his right hand tracing the band of her panties. 

“Truth or dare, kitten?” Bakugou stared up at her from his position at her breasts, his red eyes glinting in the flickering light of the TV. 

Not wanting to feel left out, Kirishima pulled back tightly on Akemi’s hair, causing her to gasp as she was forced to stare back at him. The red head cupped her chin with his other hand, sticking his thumb into her mouth and pressing it down onto her tongue. “He asked you a question, Akemi. You should answer him.” He purred. 

“Th-thruth.” She mumbled against Kirishima’s thumb, a bit of drool trailing out of her mouth. _God I want to see her with my cock in her mouth_ , Kirishima thought, pulling tighter on her hair and relishing in the moan that she let out.

“Okay then, truth it is. Do you want me?” Bakugou asked, trailing kisses down her stomach and positioning himself between her legs. 

“Adding to that-” Kirishima interrupted, letting go of her chin and trailing the hand down to her breast. “Do you want _me_?” He gave her nipple a pinch.

Akemi’s thoughts were hazy as she struggled to answer. _Obviously I want you, you shits_. She wanted to say, but when she tried to speak it just came out as an incoherent moan. Bakugou’s patience was wearing thin. He wiggled himself lower on the couch, pressing his tongue flat against her sex, over her panties. She let out a gasp, wiggling against her restraints. 

Kirishima took the opportunity to grab at her breast, squeezing it before rolling her nipple between his fingers.

“Y-yessss!” She screamed, arching her hips up to meet Bakugou’s lips. 

“Yes what, baby?” Kirishima smiled, pulling her hair further back until she met his eyes again.

“Yes I want both of you.” Akemi mumbled, squirming under the two men.

“Good.” Bakugou replied, hunger in his eyes as he began to pull down her panties. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the smut is finally here! Hahahah. Okay please give me feedback because to be honest this is my first time really writing smut hahaha, but I had a lot of fun with it. No worries, it will continue on in the next chapter but I'm also going to be transitioning back into the main story a bit, as I feel bad that the past two chapters have had no real advancement to the plot.


	11. Pun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinsou calls in backup.

Shinsou groaned from the back of his Uber. He realized that he had left his car at Bakugou’s place, and absolutely hated the idea of having to see that asshole’s face again. But at least he had an excuse to pick up Akemi and drive her to work in the morning. 

Speaking of Akemi, he had to make sure that the woman didn’t lose her virginity to those two assholes. Well, Kirishima he didn’t mind as much, but thinking of her with Bakugou made him want to punch out the windows of his Uber. As much as he hated bringing his way-too-sauve boss into the mix, he knew that he was the only one that would book it to the residence in time to stop those two from raw-dogging her. Shinsou flipped out his phone and got to work.

 **Shinsou:** Hey, had a fun night. Bakugou, Kirishima, Akemi and I played truth or dare.

 **Hawks:** Oh, cool. How’d it go?

 **Shinsou:** Well we learned that Akemi is a virgin. Hasn’t even had her first kiss yet. 

**Hawks:** I can fix that. 

**Shinsou:** Yeahhhh. Speaking of that. One of the dares ended up with Akemi in her panties and Bakugou kicked me out. Pretty sure that they are trying to tag-team her.

 **Hawks:** Address.

Shinsou smirked to himself, sending over Bakugou’s address. _Not today, Baku-bitch_. 

Back at Bakugou’s place, Akemi was at her wits end. 

Kirishima had repositioned himself, now kneeling by the couch. He was sucking her left nipple, teasing her other one with his fingers as Bakugou finished pulling down her underwear. 

Bakugou looked up for a moment, hunger in his eyes, as he slowly pressed his tongue against her clit. Akemi arched her back, shimmying her hips downwards to meet his mouth more.

“There, there miss, don’t go pulling away from me now.” Kirishima declared, nipping her breast in punishment.

“You just have no patience, kitten. I love seeing how eager you are.” Bakugou pressed a finger against her opening. “Oh you’re dripping, aren’t you? Seeing you in such a lewd position.” The blonde slipped the finger inside of her, slowly curving it upwards against her. She breathily let out a moan. “I can hardly contain myself.”

“ _Fuuuuuuuuck_ , Bakugou _pleas_ -”

There was a sudden, heavy knock on the front door. 

“What the fuck?!” Bakugou exclaimed, jumping up from his spot on the couch. 

The knock resounded again. “Yo, Bakugou. Open the door.” 

“Shit it’s Hawks.” Kirishima jumped up, quickly untying Akemi’s hands and throwing his shirt over her. She hastily put it on as Bakugou answered the door, a scowl at his lips. “‘Fuck you want, feathery asshole?”

Hawks stared up at Bakugou, his red feathers puffed up, wings unfurled as much as they could in the threshold. “I have something to tell Akemi.”

Bakugou seethed at the sight. “Well it can wait until tomorrow-” He began to close the door, but Hawks slithered in, wings slapping the blonde in the face. “It’s agency business, important.”

Akemi had just finished slipping back on her underwear, and tried her hardest to nonchalantly lay up against the armrest of the couch, Kirishima awkwardly coughing as he cleared all the red plastic cups from the coffee table. 

Hawks sighed at the sight, turning back to face Bakugou.

“Hey, kid, I just wan-” He stopped himself short as he noticed that Bakugou was caught with his pointer finger in his mouth, attempting to inconspicuously lick it clean. 

“Oh you mother-” Hawks turned on his heel, Akemi squealing as he scooped her up from the couch. 

“Where is your room?” He asked her, already heading for the stairs. She guided him silently, head buried into his chest in embarrassment. 

Back downstairs, Bakugou and Kirishima were sitting on the couch in pure silence. Both staring at the TV with their hands folded under their chin. 

“He definitely knows.” Kirishima pointed out bluntly.

“He doesn’t know shit.” Bakugou interjected.

“You were literally sucking your finger, Baku-”

“Y-yeah I know! Whatever, we are grown ass men, we can do what we want to who we want.” Bakugou grumbled.

“With consent.” 

“Of course with fuckin’ consent, Kiri. That’s implied, damn it.” Bakugou leaned back, hands in his hair. “But...she tasted really good. And the way that she moaned my name…”

“It isn’t fair that only you got a taste.” The red-head added, downing a glass of water. 

“Yeah well it’s not like we aren’t going to get another chance.” Bakugou responded, wrapping a blanket around his feet as he settled into the couch. Kirishima slowly started to giggle, before breaking out into a fit of laughter. He clutched his sides, wiping tears from his eyes.

“What is it, Kirishima?” 

“W-we...oh my god I’m going to lose it...we got HAWKblocked hahahahahah!” Kirishima collapsed against the back of the couch, staring at his best friend with a stupid toothy grin plastered on his face.

“I have never felt more like punchin’ you than right now, Kirishima.”

Back upstairs, Hawks was completely baffled at the sight of Akemi’s room. The pure _amount_ of Bakugou Katsuki memorabilia was sickening. He turned to the grey-haired woman, a look of hurt in his eyes. “Well then, and I thought that you said you weren’t that well-acquainted with Pro-Heroes…”

Akemi blushed. “Oh no no no that is a complete misunderstanding! The room was already like this when I got here. It’s Bakugou’s spare room.”

Hawks’ feathers un-ruffled themselves as he took a seat next to her on the bed. She pulled her legs up to her chin, avoiding his gaze. Hawks reached over and grabbed an item off of her pillow. “What’s this?” He inquired, turning it in his hands. “A...passport?”

“Yeah…” Akemi mumbled into her knees. “Aizawa helped get it for me. Please keep it a secret for now.”

“What,” Hawks let out a bark of a laugh. “You planning on going on vacation soon?”

“I...may have to go on the run, in a bit.” Akemi reached out onto the bedside table, grabbing a jar of coconut lotion and scooping out a dab. Hawks watched as she meticulously worked it under the circlets at her ankles, massaging it into the raw skin underneath.

“I don’t know, I might not. I just don’t really know what’s going on anymore.” She added, focusing intently on the task at hand as an excuse to not have to face the number two Hero. 

“Are you okay, Akemi? Hey give me that.” He grabbed the fingertips of his leather glove with his teeth, pulling it off of his hand. He took the jar from her, scooping up some lotion and pulling her legs into his lap. She blushed intently as he daintily handled her ankle, his fingertips surprisingly smooth.

“I-I don’t really know. I mean _I’m_ not okay, but physically I will be, for now. It’s complicated. I think I have time set up with Aizawa tomorrow to talk about it in more detail. I don’t mean to insult you or anything, I just don’t know who to trust…”

Hawks nodded silently, moving to her other ankle. “You know what these remind me of, Akemi.”

She shook her head in response.

“These remind me of the identification bands that they put on birds, have you ever seen them?”

Akemi twiddled her thumbs, hissing slightly as he brushed up against a particularly raw spot. “No...if I’m being completely honest, this is the first time that I’ve been outside of the Compound in about 16 years. Well, I’ve been in other buildings before, and in trucks. Just not, you know....” She made a sweeping motion with her arms. “Out.”

“The Compound?” Hawks noted, pulling her even further onto his lap so that he could move on to her wrists. She shivered lightly as she noticed how gently he was handling her. 

“Ah-” _Shit._ “That’s sort of...the name of the grounds that I grew up in. It’s difficult to know what to call it. I kind of grew up in a training camp of sorts.”

“I think I can relate to that, surprisingly.” Hawks mumbled, now onto the last band. “Did you get these there?”

“Yeah. I think I first got them fitted when I was like 7, maybe?” She let out a hum as he continued to massage the lotion in, feeling relief in the coolness.

“In bird keeping, and the general study of birds, they apply these metal bands around one of their legs. They fit really loosely, and usually have a number stamped into them. That way, researchers can identify and follow them as they migrate in the wild, and keep track of their health.” Hawks had finished rubbing in the last of the lotion, but he still gripped onto Akemi’s wrists. His golden eyes stared her down, a sudden serious edge to his voice. “They also use those bands in the pet trade, so that when a bird flies away from its owner, it can be returned when found.”

Tears pricked at the edges of Akemi’s eyes, and she pulled her hand away from Hawks’ to wipe them from her eyes as she sniffled. “Y-yeah? That’s pretty interesting.” 

Hawks took in her reaction, noting the hurt in her eyes as she stared down at her wrists. “Do...you want me to help get these off?” 

“NO! No you can’t if you do he’ll-” Akemi tried to jump off of the bed, panic climbing it’s way up her throat. Hawks caught her, pulling her back against his chest.

“Shh. Shhh. It’s okay, it’s alright. I’m sorry.” He whispered into her shoulder, his wings wrapping around them. 

“I don’t want to be punished.” She whimpered. “I just got out, and I don’t want to be sent back. And he knows that I used my Quirk and he’s already wanting to speak with me…” 

“Hey, you’re basically an intern at my Agency. I won’t let anything happen to you. You are living with two pretty well known Heroes, and are under the protection of Eraserhead. Who would even think about messing with you?”

“I don’t know. My...father doesn’t typically let anyone get in the way. Especially when it comes to KiboKoshi’s property.”

Hawks paused, turning Akemi around to face him. “Did you say KiboKoshi?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the short update. Life is absolutely crazy right now, haha. I hope you guys enjoy it though. I honestly adore writing Hawks. :)


	12. Gale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A storm brews at Bakugou and Kirishima's place.

“Did you say KiboKoshi?” Hawks stared down at her, eyebrows furrowed. 

“Yeah.” She responded, averting her gaze. She didn’t want him to probe more, her mind was consumed by the overwhelming situation she would have to face tomorrow, and it was hard enough to sort through her emotions in her drunken state. 

“Like multi-billion yen conglomerate KiboKoshi? The Hero Commission works closely with them, I think I have a meeting with Chairman Kira later this week-”

Akemi propelled herself backwards, falling off of the bed and shuffling herself back until she was against the door. She knew that they had close ties with the Hero Commission, but why was Hawks meeting with Kira? How close were they? Was Hawks sent to tail her? Could she even trust him? Maybe Kira was wanting to see how much information she was willing to divulge before her meeting with him. She felt her chest tighten, hands flying up to cover her mouth as she tried to stop herself from hyperventilating. 

“Hey, hey Akemi what’s-” Hawks kneeled beside her, hand gently grabbing her wrist.

“Don’t touch me!” Akemi slapped his hand away, breaths coming in shallow gasps. The scar tissue on her back burned in remembrance, a phantom pain that pulled her back to that night three years ago. Hands that had grabbed at her thighs, a sudden flash of silver, being pinned down to the table below. Her head was spinning, and her vision blurred.

Hawks watched as suddenly the items in the room began to float. Posters, plushies, figurines of the blonde hero swirling in the air in a tempo that quickened.

“Hey, Akemi, please calm down. It’s okay. I-I think that we should talk to Aizawa tonight, is that okay? I know it’s really late but I think maybe it would help to-”

She was in tears, the room shivering as it contained what was now a gale. Akemi began to rock back and forth, hands cupped over her ears as she fought to ignore the images flashing in her mind. 

“Please, Akemi. I think i can help you-”

“Shut up please shut up I know you work for him please just leave!” The windows blew out under the building pressure, glass raining down on them.

Hawks’ wings unfurled, attempting to shield her from the debri. He winced as shards found purchase between feathers, a hiss at his lips. He pulled out his phone, sending a quick, panicked text to Aizawa before making the decision to quickly slip out of the room, running down the stairs.

“What the fuck did you do to her, Big Bird?!” Bakugou puffed his chest, shoving Hawks as he stepped off of the last step.

“Is she okay? What’s going on?” Kirishima turned to run up the stairs, Hawks grabbing him by the hand to hold him back.

“She is dissociating, losing control of her Quirk. Aizawa is on his way, I think I might have said something that triggered her on accident.” Hawks looked down in shame. He wasn’t sure if it was better to go back up and attempt to calm her, or if it would just do more harm. 

“You think?! What the fuck did you even say, you asshole? Damn it Hawks!” Bakugou screamed back, shoving the Pro-Hero out of the way as he ran up the stairs. 

The door to the room swung open, but the wind that had built up within swung it violently back at Bakugou’s face. He braced himself against it, heels digging into the carpet. 

“Akemi!” His voice was hoarse, mouth dry. In a show of incredible irony, the universe decided that his punishment would be to have to wade through a hailstorm of his own memorabilia. His beloved body pillow (life sized, might he add) flew into his side, causing him to stumble. He decided that crawling would probably mean that less collectibles would hit him, so he lowered himself to the ground and pushed forward. 

“Akemi please!” He grabbed onto her wrist, trying to pry her hands from her face. “You’re destroying everything, damn it. Get a hold of yourself.”

She looked up at him, eyes brimming with tears. “He’s going to kill me!”

“Who, god damn it?!” Bakugou pulled her towards his chest, face red from being whipped by pages of a magazine that he’d been featured in.

“M-my dad!” She sobbed into his chest, her nails digging into his pectorals. He winced in pain, pulling her even closer.

Suddenly the door to the room flew open, Aizawa shoving Bakugou out of the way as he took Akemi’s face in his hands, looking deep into her eyes.

“Calm down.” He murmured. 

The objects that had previously been flying about the room dropped suddenly, and Akemi collapsed into Aizawa, exhausted by the sudden overuse of her Quirk.

“Fuckin’ hell, she messed up my room.” Bakugou hissed, hand ruffling through his hair as he surveyed the damage. Broken glass blanketed the floor, the ripped pages of books and magazines slowly floating downward. 

“I’m taking her downstairs. She needs to rest for a moment and then we have to get to the bottom of what’s going on.” Aizawa ignored his former student’s unsympathetic remarks, carrying the young woman down the stairs as gently as he could before resting her on the couch.

“What did you say, Hawks?” Kirishima accosted, eyes shooting daggers at the older hero. 

“She...was telling me that she’s somehow involved with KiboKoshi. I told her I was meeting with Chairman Kira soon and her face went white, she looked terrified.”

“Chairman Kira…” Aizawa settled down in the armchair, hands folded under his chin. “...is Akemi’s father. Or adoptive father? Honestly I’m not quite sure, but I have my suspicions about him and KiboKoshi as a whole.”

“Well, what are your suspicions? She told me that he was going to kill her.” Bakugou re-emerged from the kitchen, a beer in hand. 

Aizawa processed that information, eyes flicking to the passport that he had recovered from Akemi’s room. “KiboKoshi was almost shut down some years ago for... _human experimentation_. I was originally sent on a recon mission there. It was...a really ugly sight, to be honest. When we were about to shut the whole operation down, the old Chairman of the board suddenly stepped down and was replaced by Kira. You might know him as Phaze.”

“Phaze?! He used to be in the top 5, right?!” Kirishima exclaimed, eyes glittering at the mention of one of his favorite old-school heroes. 

“Yeah, he was. Once Phaze took that role on, the Commission suddenly halted all investigations into the place. They reassured me that with a Hero at the helm, the company would now be wholly devoted to helping out the Commission in any way possible.” Aizawa glanced down at the young woman snoring on the couch. She looked small, curled up in the fetal position, hands clutching at her sides. 

“Kirishima, Phaze was an amazing hero. He really, truly was one of the best. But...his priorities didn’t lie in being a hero. Once he joined KiboKoshi, he completely disappeared from the limelight. We used to be partners, but he completely pulled away from me. He became secretive, and conniving.” The teacher’s gaze finally wavered from Akemi, coming face to face with Hawks. 

“Everyone, get some sleep. As soon as she wakes up, we will begin questioning her. I hate to push this on her so quickly, but I’m incredibly scared for her safety.”

As everyone hesitantly made their way to their rooms, Aizawa grabbed onto Hawks’ arm. “Hawks.”

The Pro-Hero grimaced at the tightness of Aizawa’s grip. “What, Eraserhead?”

“I need you to keep an eye on her, down here. I’ll be asleep in my car out front. KiboKoshi is dangerous. We are walking on eggshells here. Kira probably already knows that I’ve betrayed his trust. I cannot stress this enough, Akemi must be incredibly valuable judging by Kira’s reaction to this entire situation. She is either dangerous, or worth too much for the company, or both. I want you to stay in here, okay?”

Hawks nodded in silent agreement.

As Aizawa made his way to his car, the number 2 Hero layed down on the floor beside the couch, extending one wing over her. 

Outside, fingers adjusted the scope of a rifle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not going to lie I was really really drunk while I wrote this chapter. I'm really excited to publish the next one though. If you have any requests, please let me know and I'll try to make them happen. :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawks and the others wake up to a startling realization.

Hawks awoke to the sensation of thick black smoke coating his lungs. He groaned as he struggled to pull himself up. It felt as though a heavy blanket had been placed over him, pinning him down. His eyes lulled back into his head as he slipped in and out of consciousness. “A-akemi…” He whispered, his voice hoarse and raspy.

He realized that he couldn’t feel her under his wing. As panic began to build its way up his throat, he heard the crackle of glass. 

A shadowy figure, cloaked in the haze of smoke that filled the room, had paused by the door. 

“Tell Aizawa that the Chairman has withdrawn from their agreement.” With that, the man simply slipped into and _through_ the front door.

Hawks hacked smoke and teargas from his lungs, struggling to pull himself up. He wanted to call out to Aizawa and the others, but couldn’t manage more than a whisper. The screech of tires against pavement cut through the nighttime quiet, and Hawks heard a faint stumbling as Bakugou slipped down the stairs.

The blonde had pressed a wet t-shirt to his mouth, coughing into the fabric as his squinted eyes darted about the room.

“W-where-” Bakugou coughed again, fumbling his way over to the couch. “Akemi...where…”

“I don’t know.” Hawks grabbed a cup of what he hoped was water from the table, hands shaking as he tried to rinse his eyes out. 

The front door crashed open, Aizawa’s lanky figure doubling over as he was hit by the awful mixture of tear gas, sleeping gas and smoke bomb. 

“They took her, Hawks.” Aizawa pulled the Pro-Hero up, guiding him out of the house.

“W-who is _they_?!” Kirishima had emerged from his room, a rag fashioned similarly to Bakugou’s pressed against his lips. 

The men gathered on the front lawn, taking deep breaths of the night air as they tried to get their bearings. 

“And how did they get inside unnoticed?!” Bakugou added, sending a withering glare to Hawks.

 _Ouch_ , the winged hero thought, _I deserve that look_.

“It was KiboKoshi, no doubt.” The panic that had previously coated his voice was now gone, Aizawa now sitting pensively as he attempted to formulate a plan.

“Well we need to get her back! They can’t just take someone, she’s a person! That’s kidnapping.” Kirishima stuttered, his voice twisted in anguish as he came to terms with how _close_ he had been to Akemi. _But they still managed to take her_ , he thought. He pulled at his hair, a nervous habit, as he looked to his former teacher to guide him.

“They can. She isn’t a person to them, but property. In Kira’s eyes, he’s just taking back a borrowed toy that rightly belongs to him.” Aizawa flipped up his phone, sending a text over to Shinsou.

“So what are we going to do, just sit around here?! She was in my house, god damn it. They can’t just take her from _my house_.” Bakugou seethed, already in the process of pulling on his hero costume.

“Not so fast.” Aizawa glared down at the blonde. “I have a plan, but it’ll take a while. We have to be smart about this.”

_____

  
A heavy thunk awoke her as the metal box she was enclosed in was pulled from the back of the truck. Akemi’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as she tried to fight through the sedative that she had been injected with. Suddenly the box was heaved up, the voices of two men grunting under the weight of the steel case as they began to wobble over towards the entrance of the underground compound. The woman’s head slammed against the side of the trunk as she struggled to straighten herself. The trunk was so small, her knees were bent up to her chest, and her joints had started to become sore after holding the position for hours.

“Set it down there.” The voice was cold, short, and terrifyingly familiar. Akemi’s breath quickened in panic. 

The lid to the trunk cracked open, and her eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden flickering of incandescent light bulbs. 

“Well then, Akemi. I’m beyond disappointed. I thought that you knew what the terms of our deal were.” Kira sat on a green velvet armchair, the only piece of furniture in the large concrete-grey room. He was perusing a thick report, thin, wire-framed reading glasses sitting on the tip of his nose. 

Akemi hissed in pain as she pulled herself out of the trunk. She tried to stand, the pins and needles in her sore legs causing them to buckle beneath her as she fell against the rough floor. She was still wearing Kirishima’s t-shirt, nothing but a pair of cotton panties on her lower half. Realizing how exposed she was, she attempted to pull the shirt down over her legs, too embarrassed to look Kira headon.

The motion caught the Chairman’s eye, and he peered down at her, contempt carved between his eyebrows. “Who would think that on your first 3 days out in the real world, you would become some type of groveling pro-Hero groupie-”

“That’s not it!” Akemi interjected, wincing as she lost her footing again. 

“To be quite honest, I do not care, Akemi. Let’s cut to the chase, we have business to get to.” He closed the report, reaching out a hand to his side. A gruff looking man placed a glass of wine in it, a hungry look in his eyes as he turned to look Akemi up and down.

“I have already arranged to have you auctioned tonight.”

Her blood ran cold. “What?”

“You heard me the first time, don’t act dumb, little girl. We are holding a demonstration tonight, and several eager parties will bid. From your-” He waived his free hand in the air dramatically. “-performance the other night, it’s obvious that you aren’t _too_ rusty. They’ll be here within the next two hours, so we’ll get you as presentable as possible before then.”

“You can’t do this! Please just give me one more-”

“Absolutely not. What do you take me for? You do realize how much danger you put KiboKoshi in, correct? While I am _very well acquainted_ with the Hero Commission, you still disclosed company secrets to several Heroes. You have put company assets-please remember that you yourself are considered as such-at risk. We are done speaking about this, get out of my sight.”

Before Akemi could protest, her hands were bound behind her back and she was shoved out of the room. In a panic, she flared out with her Quirk, wanting it to push the two guards back.

But nothing happened. She swung around to face the Chairman.

Kira barked out a laugh, wine glass at his lips. “Ah ah ah,” he clucked. “do you really think that I wouldn’t have noticed your little foray into metal-smithing? It seems that you must have accidentally broken one of your cuffs. I took the liberty of having them reinforced.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small silver remote. “I even made a couple of improvements.” He added, pressing a button.

Akemi’s body convulsed as a wave of electricity shocked at her extremities. She cried out in pain, tears swelling at her eyes. Dejected, she let her body go limp as the men dragged her into a back room.

She was stripped by two female guards and thrown into a tub of burning hot water. Normally, she would have relished in the warmth of the water, even if it was too hot. But the women tending to her were fervently scrubbing at her skin with washcloths, leaving it raw and burning in their wake. 

After they deemed her clean enough, they pulled her out of the tub and began to vigorously dry her with a towel.

She stood there, numb, as they brushed her hair and clothed her.

_Is this worse than dying? Would it have been better if my punishment was torture, as it had been in the past?_

She wanted to scream. Her first act of rebellion, her first taste of the outside world, and now she was being caged again. 

_Who...who am I being sold to?_

That was the most terrifying thought of all. Her mind raced, combing through the names of all of the local crime syndicates that she had been forced to memorize.

It seems that whoever was coming, they wanted her to play a very specific part.

She had been dressed in all black, a tight pair of leather shorts shimmied up her hips. She was sure the seams would rip, but somehow it seemed that they had managed not to break against her wide thighs. What could only be described as a black bralette was fastened to her, displaying a blossoming bruise on her chest that was painfully visible under the lace. 

Her hair was styled in loose curls, a circlet made of thorns placed atop her head. The thorns were real, digging into her skin, dainty blood droplets carving their way down her cheek. The two guards didn’t seem to mind, painting her lips blood red to match and smiling in content.

The women moved towards Akemi, garter’s in hand. She put her hand out, taking the thigh holsters from them.

“I’ll do this myself.” She whispered, fastening them to her thighs. “Where are my daggers?”

The taller of the two chortled. “Kira said not to give them to you until you’re at the training hall.”

Akemi paused, staring down at her feet. She wondered if she would even do anything, if she had a knife. She had tried the outside world, and it hadn’t gotten her anywhere. _Maybe it’s best to just keep doing what I’m told._

She was marched, hands tied behind her back, into the all-too-familiar training room.

It was cold, industrial fans whirling overhead. The size of a soccer field, the back walls were lined with a jumbotron. The very front of the room contained stands, safely tucked behind a thick layer of bulletproof, tempered glass.

“Ladies, gentlemen, I know that I’ve brought you here on such short notice. I appreciate you making time in your busy, busy schedules to attend this bid. We have been working on subject Akemi for the past eighteen, almost nineteen years. I want to assure you, that she is absolutely capable of extraordinary things.” The Chairman stood at the middle of the room, dressed neatly in a suit and tie. He adjusted the microphone in his hand, static cutting through the speakers overhead. His smile was predatory.

“Now let’s meet the woman of the hour. Akemi, please, introduce yourself.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just excited because I'm introducing some of my favorite characters next chapter,. :)))


	14. Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akemi finally gets to use more of her Quirk, and a certain Villainous group show up to the bid.

Akemi stumbled as the guards shoved her forwards, the door slamming behind her and sealing her fate. Her fingertips and feet began to hum, pins and needles burning at her skin. She glanced down, and noted that the bands were glowing faintly, determining that the Chairman had deactivated them in some capacity. 

She was all too familiar with this arena. She had spent the majority of her childhood here, the ticking timer on the jumbotron counting down in ominous, blocky numbers as she had rushed to defend herself from an onslaught of robots. She assumed that this time would be no different, and a sudden melancholy settled within her. For some reason, this time she had thought that when she left the ground of the Compound, she wouldn’t ever have to step foot in this room again. When she glanced down at the concrete floor, she noted light splotches of dull red. Most of the blood spilled in this room had been hers, of course, but she recognized some stains that most definitely were not. Akemi tried to shove down a treasure trove of unpleasant memories that threatened to burst from her, biting her lip so hard that blood pooled on her skin.

She was snapped out of her trance by the Chairman’s burning stare, shuffling herself to the middle of the arena while turning to size up the people that had gathered in the stands. 

Various groups of people sat, huddled in their own little designated areas. Some men and women were smoking cigars, others were daintily holding onto champagne flutes or lowballs filled with whisky. Most of them were laughing or clinging to one another, the overall atmosphere being celebratory. The dresscode for the evening even seemed to be cocktail, judging from the ties and sleek dresses. Bile rose in her throat as she was filled with disgust at the scene. 

A particular group caught her eye, as they sat in a secluded, shadowy corner and were far too underdressed. A young woman wearing a cardigan over what looked like a school uniform sat, playing with a switchblade as she excitedly chattered at the man who sat beside her. He was wearing casual clothes, an open leather jacket over a pair of patchwork pants. He had a severely scarred, but handsome face, and Akemi noted the piercings that dotted his nose and ears. The man starred forward at Akemi languidly, arms stretched out behind his head in a carefree way. She broke the eye contact first, embarrassed at having been caught looking at him for so long. The last man that sat next to him donned a heavy black hoodie, and she could barely make out a shock of pastel blue hair from beneath it. The man seemed to be engrossed in a portable console that he held at his lap, furiously mashing away at buttons.

“Akemi, dear.” The Chairman’s cold voice cut through her thoughts, bringing her attention back to him. “Let’s not keep the crowd waiting.”

She bit down even harder on her already mangled lip as she turned to stare up at the man. “I don’t have any weapons.... _sir_.” Venom dripped from her words as she spat them out at him, the pointed tips of her nails digging into her palms. 

“Ah! You’re right!” The Chairman clapped his gloved hands together, turning back to face the crowd. “Although her various Quirks don’t necessarily require any weapons, this project has a particular affinity for pointy objects. I’m sure many of you can relate.” The crowd laughed in response, a couple of people holding their glasses up in cheers.

“Well, let’s give her what she wants!” The Chairman waived a hand in the air, signaling to some unknown person working in the shadows. Suddenly, a tile on the ceiling whirred open, Akemi scuttering to the side as dozens of knives, daggers and needles clattered down from above. 

She hissed in pain as a couple of the blades grazed her arm and side, the skin of her hands and knees bloodied by the concrete floor as she slid across it. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as the crowd jeered at her. As she glanced up to gauge the reaction in the stands, she noted that the young blonde woman was suddenly fixated on the trails of blood that lined her face, sides and knees. The woman licked her lips, eyes sparkling in morbid excitement. 

Akemi’s own eyes welled with tears. All she had to do was not break the rules, just for long enough to get away from the Chairman. But here she was. She felt utterly humiliated, and overwhelmingly vulnerable.

“Well dear, you have your knives now. Let’s get to it.” The Chairman held his own glass of red wine in the air, a set of metal doors to Akemi’s left slamming open. The ominous grating of metal gears filled the air, Akemi scrambling to grab a couple of daggers as she darted forward towards the glass partition. 

“She can’t break through, can she?” A woman in the crowd asked in a worried tone. 

“Don’t worry, ma’am. She has tried many times. This glass could keep back All Might himself.” The crowd chuckled alongside the Chairman, turning their attention back to the scene that unfolded before them.

A large (probably 15 foot tall), four legged metal creature scuttled forward from the doorway, the laser-red of its rows of eyes glancing about to spot its target. There was another loud, metallic noise as four androids joined it. They were each 7 feet tall, their arms styled into long, pointed ends as they raced forward towards her. 

Akemi recognized the group of robots, having been through this same training sequence several times in the past. Was he sending out something familiar to ensure that she could put on a good show? 

As she dashed towards the glass wall, fury burned inside her at the sight of the Chairman’s smug smile. 

She didn’t want to give them a fucking show. She didn’t want them to be impressed, she didn’t want them to be entertained or interested or invested in Kira’s little _project_. 

But then the coldness of Kira’s gaze hit her, full force, and she remembered the agony of his punishments. Her blood turned icy, and the scars at her back flared in pain. Her skin shivered in response, and she pushed off of the ground and onto the glass, powerful legs propelling her off of the surface as she twisted in the air. 

Her Quirk rippled through her, her pulse quickening and the gold ring of her irises flaring to life. She threw a barrage of blades down at the first android in her path. Hit by a sudden wave of clarity, she focused in on the blades as they found purchase in her target.

You see, telekinesis Quirks are so, so underrated. The ability to move things with your mind seems pretty cut and dry on the surface, but with enough effort, practice and just a little _tweak_ of science, it can be the most versatile weapon. 

All you have to do is be able to focus on the little things. 

She had first been trained on moving large things. Telekinetics are so often concerned with how heavy of an item they can manipulate. Akemi herself had initially failed at that aspect, not being able to move anything heavier than a hundred pounds or so.

But one day, she realized that her Quirk made her so _aware_ of her surroundings. Of the swirling wine in a glass, or the echoing of footsteps behind her. 

She realized that she didn’t have to _see_ things to manipulate them, she just had to feel them.

So instead of moving the car, she had first focused on moving the wheels themselves. Then she had honed in on the wheel studs. Then, she focused on the feel of the gas in the fuel tank, and realized that she could sense the debris that floated within it.

And soon enough, she could sense the very molecules and atoms that made it up. It made it very, very easy to blow up a tank when you could split an atom.

Of course, splitting an atom would surely kill herself as well, so Akemi didn’t depend on that kind of tactic. Instead, she taught herself the basic chemical reactions that led to fire, how to cool water vapor in the air into frost. And--when the conditions were right--how to create friction in the air necessary to summon lightning. 

  
Complex chemical reactions needed time, and focus, and so did doing things like locating and unscrewing the bolts that made up the robots that Kira so often used against her.

So the simple use of combustion to cause small explosions became a signature tool for her. Fire was the first element that she had learned to manipulate as a young child, and easily the quickest and simplest. 

As the daggers hit the android, Akemi arched through the air. Her fingers were outstretched, pupils dilating and constricting quickly as she focused in on the contact between the blades and the metal beneath them. 

The android staggered backwards as four small explosions ripped its chestplate apart. 

Akemi landed gracefully on the ground, ripping off the thorned crown that rested atop her head and tossing it aside. The scarred man’s eyes seemed to follow her intently as the blades that had previously scattered across the ground floated into the air. 

She lowered herself to the ground and pushed forward. Focusing her power into her legs, she strengthened the muscles in her calves and thighs as she raced towards another of the androids. 

The crowd had erupted into cheers, people clapping as they laughed gleefully. 

Akemi gritted her teeth. _Fine then, I’ll give them a fucking show_.

The blades that were suspended in the air rushed forward, sinking into another of the androids. Akemi switched directions just in time to avoid a projectile the lead robot sent her way, rolling across the cement as she realized that she had been cornered by the larger robot. 

_Shit shit shit._

Thankfully, the climate was pretty humid in the area. Akemi jumped up, pulling water droplets from the air and freezing them into small platforms just as her feet landed, climbing further into the air. The small shelves of ice fell to the ground and shattered after each of her steps. She grunted, struggling to climb as high up as she could.

She materialized a sheet of ice in front of her, twisting her body and pouncing off of it at an angle, changing her course just in time to narrowly avoid another projectile. It hit the ceiling above, the room shaking as it exploded. 

Akemi was falling head-first towards one of the androids. As it reared back it’s mantis-like arm, ready to skewer her, she outstretched her hands in desperation. A couple of tentative sparks flared to life, and Akemi pushed herself further.  
A sudden flare of red-hot flames extended from her fingertips, encapsulating the android below. 

She fell through the flames herself, crying out in pain as the fire licked at her skin. The android had stumbled backwards, still aflame. 

As Akemi landed, the tell-tale smell of burning hair caught her attention. She quickly grabbed at one of the daggers, pulling her hair over her shoulder and cutting off the burning part. She had no time to lament the loss of a good 5 inches of hair, as she quickly had to roll out of the way. The flaming android was flailing as it stabbed one of its arms at her, narrowly missing her and sinking into the concrete below. 

Akemi quickly summoned one of the larger blades towards her, sliding on her knees as she used the knife to sever the bot’s head from its body. The fire that still clung to its body singed her eyebrows as she bent backwards and slid underneath it. 

She turned to face the third android, the blades that she had sent previously still stuck in its chest. Akemi focused on her fist, strengthening the muscles in her arm as she slammed it into the concrete below.

The ground cracked under the punch, sending debris and chunks of concrete into the air. Akemi focused on the debris, pushing it forward as it slammed into the android and sent it flying into the back wall. 

The large robot sped towards her, laser-eyes honing in.

She turned to run in the opposite direction but let out a scream as the last android left standing stabbed it’s arm into her stomach, twisting. 

Akemi grunted in pain as the robot raised her into the air and she felt herself slide further down the appendage. Anger flared within her, the last thing that she needed was another ugly scar. 

She grabbed onto the robot’s blank face, drawing condensation onto the metal below and freezing it beneath her fingertips. As the metal became cold and brittle, she squeezed, focusing all the strength that she could into her hand. The android’s face crumbled for a brief moment, before shattering into a shower of ice and metallic shrapnel. 

The android’s body dropped, and Akemi heaved herself off of the long blade with a high-pitched scream as she felt the blood pour from her. 

As the last robot sped towards her, she rolled to the side, trying to stand up but stumbling. It turned back to face her, sending a projectile her way. She cursed internally as she realized that she couldn’t get out of the way fast enough.

Extending both of her arms, she sent a flare of heat forward. Her flames collided with the projectile, exploding it in mid-air. The shock wave of the explosion sent both herself and the robot flying backwards. She hit the glass partition, gasping as the air was knocked out of her. 

As the bot staggered upwards, Akemi extended a hand upwards. A small fire lit above it, and she focused on kindling it further. The red of the flames turned blue as the heat increased, and Akemi rested her head back against the glass partition in preparation. 

_Fuck it, s_ he thought, and slammed the hand into the hole at her stomach, screaming in pain as she cauterized the wound. With little time, she struggled to do the same to the exit wound at her back, barely managing to slip out of the way as the robot slammed itself into the wall she had just been resting against.

Burning the wound had stopped the bleeding, but the pain was enough to cut her speed in half. Akemi grunted as she pushed herself up from the floor and stumbled back down onto her knees. 

Planting both hands on the ground, a frost shot forward towards the robot. She knew that the ice had to be fast enough and solid enough to secure the bot before it pulled away, and she screamed as she focused all her strength. 

The ice quickly climbed up the robot’s legs in thick, spiked tendrils. It struggled against it, trying to pull itself forward and falling. Akemi grunted as she propelled herself onto the robot’s head, sinking a blade deep into the crevice of its eyes. The light in them flickered before slowly dulling, its twitching legs going still. 

With a heavy sigh, Akemi realized that the crowd was clapping, joyfully laughing at the gorish fight they had witnessed. 

As she raised her head, hands clutching at the wound on her stomach, she realized that the scarred man was staring at her even more intensely this time. His eyes flickered down to the burn at her stomach before he turned to speak to the man to his side. They conversed in a hushed, but enthusiastic tone, their gazes flitting back and forth between the bloodied woman and the Kira, who now stood at his podium. 

“Everyone, everyone. Quiet, please. Shall we begin our bidding?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that this chapter was alright! I really enjoyed writing it, but I'm not the most confident in my writing abilities when it comes to action scenes, haha.
> 
> I completely understand that Akemi's Quirk is a little overpowered, but I really wanted to explore all of the aspects of telekinesis. I still have some cool ideas that I'll be exploring in future chapters as well. 
> 
> Please let me know if you have any critiques, I'm more than open to them. :)


	15. 160 Million Yen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bid progresses, and Akemi has to say farewell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm always updating at like 3 am, oh well haha. Please let me know what you guys think, I'm so sorry it's been so many chapters since any **spice**, I promise it's coming. It's pretty hard to balance smut (especially smut where basically everyone wants to fuck the MC) with an actual story line, and I'm hoping that I'm doing a semi-good job of it, as I really really love smut with an overarching plot (not really one for One shot smuts, :cc )
> 
> Anyway, I promise spicy stuff is coming in the next chapter or two. :)

“Bidding starts at 160 million yen.” 

A coldness spread through Akemi’s chest. They’re starting the bid that low? That would barely even cover the costs to raise me and train me, if that.

“Slow down, Chairman. I believe we are owed more of an in depth explanation as to the skills that this project possesses.” A man sitting near the front row spoke in English coated with a southern drawl. 

“My apologies, Mr. Graham. I was over-eager.” Kira took a sip from his drink. “Project Akemi was born out-of-eutero-” He began.

“A test tube baby?” A woman who clung to Mr. Graham’s arm interrupted. She played with an auburn curl nonchalantly, combing her fingers through her locks. 

Kira’s bitterness at being interrupted was palpable. “Not quite. I partnered with Chia Tanaka on this one. Miss Tanaka has a one of a kind Incubation Quirk. She basically can sustain and nourish life outside of a womb. This allowed us the ability to, through some soon to be patented technology, perform surgery on the subject before she had even finished development. We used the DNA from a now deceased, but powerful Telekinetic Quirk user. We combined it with the DNA of a man who possessed a super-strength Quirk. Akemi ended up being able to strengthen her muscles, giving her higher than average strength and speed.”

“I have a question,-” The man who interrupted had a cold, steady voice and spoke in formal Japanese. His voice was slightly muffled through the bird-like mask that covered the lower half of his face. 

“Of course, Chisaki. Ask away.” The interest of this new man in Akemi seemed to amuse Kira, who smirked as he looked down at her with a coy smile. It sent shivers down her spine.

“I mean it’s what we are all most likely thinking. We saw her manipulate both fire, and ice during the combat demonstration. How did she do that, and does she have any more talents on top of that?”

Kira’s smile widened as he clapped his hands together gleefully. “Of course! I’ll defer to the project herself. Akemi, would you care to explain?”

Akemi’s mouth was dry, her throat burning as she swallowed nervously. She hesitated for too long, and suddenly cried out as Kira pressed a button on his remote, doubling over in pain.

“My apologies, she seems to have gotten stage fright. This is also a great opportunity to show you guys the many uses of the bands at the project’s ankles and wrists. You have full control over stopping and starting her Quirks, and if she is ever difficult, you can simply press a button and 75 volts of electricity will surely put her in her place. Now, Akemi dear, have you gotten over your shyness?”

Akemi winced in pain as she struggled to straighten herself, her palm still pressed firmly over the wound at her stomach. “Y-yes. I’m able to manipulate atoms, so with enough knowledge of a chemical reaction I can create basic things like fire, ice, manipulate water or l-lightning when I have the right environment.”

Mr.Graham seemed to relish in her response. “Could you manipulate the blood inside of a human body?”

The suggestion made Akemi sick, and she quickly shook her head.

The Chairman was quick to add. “She is hesitant to, and I must say that we have had some issues with getting her to use her Quirks directly on people. But with enough discipline, I believe she would definitely be able to. On top of that, she could, theoretically, split an atom.”

Mr. Graham’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “How interesting!”

Chisaki was quick to ask a final question. “What are the downsides to her Quirk? Surely, she must have some.”

The Chairman peered over at Akemi, signaling that she was to speak. “I-I...well, since none of the elements that I manipulate are inherently a part of my Quirk, my body is susceptible to being damaged by them. Meaning that fire burns me, ice could give me frostbite, etc. And I heal much slower than other Quirk-users. While my bands are activated, they also dampen the effects of Healing-type Quirks on my body.”

Chisaki’s gold eyes raked up and down her body, picking apart her very being. She felt as though she was being dissected, it left a sour taste in her mouth. 

“Alright, I will place my bid at 450 million yen.” His voice was cold and calculated. 

“500 million yen.” Mr. Graham countered.

“I bid 700 million yen!” A voice called out from the back.

The group of three in the corner were still whispering amongst themselves, but they were too far away for Akemi to hear them. She had expected them to bid by now, and their silence crept over her in an unsettling way.

  
___________

  
“So how much you wanna bid?” Toga was flipping her switchblade in her hand, bubble gum smacking in her mouth.

“We aren’t bidding.” Shigaraki replied coldly, slipping his Switch back into his bag. 

“Why the hell not?! She’s perfect.” Toga turned to look at Akemi, who was staring intently at the ground as she tried to drown out the bidding war that had erupted in the bleachers. Her hands at her cheeks, Toga sighed, eyelashes fluttering. “I mean look at just how beautiful her blood is! And her legs, I have the perfect pair of thigh highs for her!”

“It’s not like we don’t have the money.” Dabi responded coldly, eyes settling on the exit wound at Akemi’s back. The burn was severe, skin bubbled and blistered, but it had seemed to have done it’s job of cauterizing the wound well enough. If she hadn’t, she would have bled out within minutes.

“Well actually, I don’t think we do.” Shigaraki nodded towards Mr. Graham, who had stood up in the stands before announcing his new bid in a booming voice.

“I’ll give you 75 billion in U.S. dollars.” 

“What the fuuuuuuuuuuck. Who is that?! How the hell can he bid that much?” Toga pouted as she glanced back at Akemi. “Must I really say bye to my love so soon?”

“You’re being overdramatic.” Shigaraki contested, adding. “That is Allan Graham. And he just happens to be the secretary of defense for the United States.”

“What the actual hell Shigaraki-” Dabi quickly turned his face away from the man, his voice coming out in an even more hushed tone. “-why the fuck is the U.S. secretary of defense at a bidding war that has gathered all of the biggest crime syndicates in Korea and Japan?!”

“I have no clue, Dabi. But something tells me this isn’t a sting operation.”

“So what are we gonna do? Just let Akemi fall into the hands of the goody two shoes over in America?” Toga whined, arms crossed. 

“We are Villains.” Shigaraki stated, standing up and readying himself to leave. “We are going to do what Villains do..”

__________

  
Akemi hardly noticed the group leave, her mind a numb jumble of thoughts as the cash was handed over to Kira. She turned to the Chairman, her lips parting as she struggled to find the words necessary to tell her faux-father goodbye. He didn’t even look her way, instead smiling down at the leather handle of the briefcase, gulping down the last of the red wine from his glass. Tears stung at her eyes as she realized how insignificant of a day this would be for him, in the long run.

Her cuffs stung alive at her extremities as she was quickly guided out of the back of the building and towards a stalled truck. 

She was ushered into the back, noting how thick the armored shell of the vehicle was and the many rows of armed guards that stood at attention towards the sides of it. Her wrists were shackled to the wall of the van, directly across from a plush leather seat which Mr. Graham quickly plopped himself down in.

He was in his late middle ages, probably around forty-eight or so, with peppered blonde hair that was secured back with a thick layer of gel and dulled brown eyes. He adjusted the cuffs on his suit, those mahogany eyes running over her. 

“So, nice to formally meet you, Akemi.” His southern drawl coated his crude, choppy Japanese, and Akemi had to strain to understand him.

He loosened the tie at his neck, sliding down the chair until he was comfortable as the engine of the van started, the sound of several motorcycles kickstarting outside reverberating against the walls.

“Aren’t you a pretty young thing? Well, we should be getting to business, now.” His Japanese got progressively worse, and grated in Akemi’s ears. 

She grit her teeth. “You can speak to me in English, Mr. Graham.”

A wide smile cut across his face. “Ah! You can speak English. Wonderful, it’ll make your stay in NYC even easier.”

“New York?!” Her breath caught in her throat, chest tightening.

“Of course! I guess I should really tell you what all of this is about.” He took a cigar out of his pocket, and Akemi coughed as he lit in and let out a thick puff of smoke. “You see, in America we really pride ourselves on our Pro-Heroes. We only take in the best, brightest--and best looking.” He chuckled at the last part, seemingly pleased with himself. “Our Pro-Heroes have partnered with the largest world-wide brands even, as spokespeople. They also serve as a symbol of hope and the American Dream to our populace.”

“So you bought me to turn me into a Pro-Hero?” Akemi knit her brow, grunting as the van lurched through a particularly sharp turn.

Mr. Graham barked out a laugh. “YOU? A Hero? Oh you poor poor girl. Not at all.” He let out another puff, clearing his throat. “We want you to be our newest Villain!”

  
____________

  
“I always loved a good heist!” Toga giggled, helping Dabi onto the back of the truck. 

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Toga. You’re pretty much useless in this one.” The black haired man added, popping two pills in his mouth and quickly chasing them a swig from a flask he’d pulled from his jacket.

Shigaraki raised an eyebrow at him, and Twice quickly turned around from the driver’s seat to quip at the burned man. “What did you take just now? Care to share? I’ve been meaning to loosen up, haha.”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “If you just HAVE to know, it’s an anti-nausea pill. I get carsick.”

“Can we focus on the task at hand? A tracker on their van only does any good as long as we are able to keep up with it.” Shigaraki mumbled, shutting the sliding side door to the car. 

Twice quickly started the car, peeling into the road at a hasty pace. “You got it, boss!”

Dabi slammed into the side of the van, doubling over as he tried to calm his stomach. “Hey, asshole! Did you not just hear what I said? I get car sick!”

“Yeah, whatever.” Toga giggled, plopping down on one of the seats. “What do you think she’s like?! Ugh I just cannot wait to play dress up with her!”

“Dress up? Why the hell are you thinking of that all of a sudden?” Dabi had sunk down to the floor, hands covering his mouth as he shut his eyes and leaned his head backwards.

“Did you even SEE her, Dabi? She has an hourglass figure! I bet she’d look good in anything I put her in.”   
Dabi quietly thought back to when he had watched the short woman fight, head replaying the sequence of her pouncing off of the glass partition and gliding through the air. “Yeah, I guess she has some nice legs…” He grumbled.

“I was more partial to her hips…” Shigaraki grumbled under his breath. 

“Woah, Shigaraki is capable of lust?!” Dabi jeered, hand moving to card through his hair.

“Shut up you little-”

“I see them now!” Twice called back over his shoulder.

“Perfect, we are just about to go through a tunnel. Dabi, Toga, get in position.” Shigaraki stood up and moved towards the door of the van. 


	16. Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's heist time!

“What do you mean you want me to be a villain?” Akemi’s throat was dry, her voice cracking as she struggled against her restraints. 

Mr. Graham reached up and caressed her face, sending a violent shiver of dread down her spine. “It’s exactly as I said. Our Heroes are symbols of the American Dream, American Exceptionalism if you will. You are the perfect person to play the antagonist.” His hand moved from her cheek, down her neck, and traced its way down her chest before settling on her thigh and giving it a lewd squeeze.

Akemi tried to pull away, shoving herself as far back against her chair as she could.

“Sadly a lot of our youth has turned to Japanese Heroes for inspiration. It seems that since the Quirk phenomena began here in the east, there are more Hero-type Quirks originating in Asian countries. Now our youth is so misguided, who can blame them? But this way, we can bring in a new, exciting villain that will make them root for our American Heroes!” His eyes continued to rake their way down her body. “Plus, you just look perfect for the part, Akemi. Oh don’t look at me like that. This isn’t the first time we’ve had to do this. In order to get people to rally behind our Heroes, there always must be a bigger, badder Villain to face.”

It felt like electricity was buzzing at Akemi’s extremities. She tried her hardest to use her Quirk, pushing the power through her body, but every time it reached her fingertips, the flare of energy seemed to sputter out and die. “I won’t do it.” She growled.

“Oh but Miss Akemi, you have no choice!” He chuckled, taking another puff of his cigar. “As of today, you are officially property of the U.S. Military! We’ll have to come up with a suitable Villain name for you. Something sexy, but scary. I heard that your hero name was going to be The Morrigan, right? I guess that can be a suitable Villain name. The Morri-”

Akemi cut him off as she spat in his face, pulling as hard as she could against her restraints. He groaned in disgust, wiping the spit from his face with his sleeve. He pulled out the silver remote from his pocket, aiming it at her.

“You little-”

A loud _boom_ echoed out, the van shaking violently as it swerved on the road. The remote fell from Graham’s hand and clattered against the floor. Akemi pulled harder against the restraints, feeling the bolt that connected her cuffs to the wall of the van loosen. 

Mr. Graham staggered to his feet. “What the hell is happening, Sykes?” 

The auburn-haired woman that had previously been clinging to his side at the bid appeared from the passenger seat of the van, pulling a handgun from a strap at her waist. “We’ve been followed by some vermin. No need to worry, I’ll take care of them.” 

Another loud explosion shook the van as it struggled to correct itself on the road, and Sykes slid open the side-door to the van.

She aimed the gun at a black van that pulled up beside them, aiming at the driver, who quickly ducked as a shot round out and shattered the front windshield. 

“Not today!” Toga jumped across the divide, tackling the auburn-haired woman and raised her syringe in the air before stabbing it down into Sykes’ chest. “Glug glug glug! Your blood is just perfect! It matches your hair!”

Akemi could hear the screams of the guards, several of which had fallen off of their motorcycles and collapsed in burning heaps on the pavement below. She took her chance and pulled once more, so hard she swore she could hear her joints pop. She fell forward as the bolts gave way, staggering straight into Mr. Graham’s chest. She raised a knee into the man’s stomach, doubling over. He reached over and grabbed her hair, and she cried out in pain as he slammed her into the ground. Suddenly, Graham’s skin parted as rows and rows of razors pushed forth from beneath his epidermis. Akemi screamed as he raked his forearm over her chest, her blood splattering through the air and coating the walls. 

She reached up and dug her thumbs into his eyes as she struggled to overpower him. She may not have access to her Quirk, but she wasn’t going to go down easy.

Toga and Sykes were wrestling on the ground when the dark-haired man jumped into the van. His turquoise eyes surveyed the scene, landing on Akemi’s figure, desperately crying out in pain from under Graham. 

With as much strength as she could muster, Akemi flipped the heavy-set man over. She screeched as her arms and thighs were cut by his blades, pulling away from his grasp and struggling to her feet. She swayed a bit, trying to hold onto the last of her strength, before bringing down one of her heels into his face, stomping down with all of her body weight behind it. 

She couldn’t bear to look down at his face as she heard him gurgle beneath her, desperately searching for the remote on the ground below as she distracted herself from the brutality of what she had just done. 

“Looking for this?” Dabi shook the remote in his hand, a sly smile on his face as he stared her down with lidded eyes. 

“Shit.” Akemi whispered. She had two options at that moment, try to fight the man for the remote, or flee. As she weighed her options, Dabi turned to Sykes, who had overpowered Toga and was aiming straight down at her with her gun.

With an outstretched hand, the woman was engulfed in blue flames. She screamed, clawing at her face desperately before Toga reared back her leg and gave her a good kick, sending her falling out of the still-swerving van. 

_Okay, run it is_. Akemi swung open the doors to the back of the van. She spotted one of armed guards, who had previously fallen off of his motorcycle but had just hopped back on from the sidelines. He began speeding back towards the van, pistol in hand. As he raised a gun, Akemi dodged left, feeling the bullet graze her arm.

“Fuckin’ hell!” Dabi shouted from behind her, apparently having been hit in some capacity. Akemi crouched low and jumped, pulling her legs in before plunging them down into the chest of the armed guard. He let out a scream as he fell from the bike. Akemi twisted her body, thighs tightening around the sides of the bike as she struggled to pull it back from it’s death wobble. 

It slid to the side, Akemi screaming with effort as she worked to straighten it. 

“Jesus fucking christ, kid. Where the hell do you think you’re going?!” Dabi ran to the back of the van, doubling over as he tried to hold in his vomit. He really, really needed to get his motion sickness under control. 

Akemi didn’t reply, revving the engine as she prepared to take the soonest exit. 

“Not so fast, little mouse.” Dabi pressed down on the remote, volts of electricity suddenly seizing Akemi’s muscles. She let out a forced scream, the bike wobbling to either side as she clung to it for dear life. Dabi outstretched his hand. “Do you really want to risk falling off at this speed?” His voice was velvety, cerulean eyes staring deeply into hers. Akemi grunted as she launched herself forward and off of the bike, Dabi chuckling as he grabbed onto her arms and pulled her back into the van. 

“Alright, Toga kill off the driver and let’s get back to base. This was fun, but I’m hungry and really would love some steak.” Dabi kneeled down, arms wrapping around Akemi’s back and knees as he stood up and pulled her close to his chest. She wanted to protest, but couldn’t muster enough energy to speak after the day’s ordeals. Dabi casually jumped over from one van to another, and Akemi slowly faded into unconsciousness.

  
___________

  
When Akemi was little, she had really, really wanted to try cotton candy. She would have done anything for it. The idea of sugar spun into a cloud, passed out at a festival lit only by lanterns, enchanted her. It was the embodiment of softness, weightlessness, sweetness. All things that Akemi dreamed of. 

She had begged Chia to let her have some for days on end. Chia had chidded her, stating that sugar wasn’t good for a Hero, and that she should just be grateful for the meal replacement drinks that they gave her, as they were the most nutritionally balanced.

But Akemi was relentless, throwing a tantrum from her room one day. She had pounded her hands into the ground, used her Quirk to shove Chia as she entered the room to tell her off. 

She was a kid, afterall, and throwing tantrums was just another thing that kids did. Chia’s face had twisted into something scary, and she had returned to her room that night with a bag of white sugar. Akemi remembered screaming as the woman had shoved fistfulls of it down her throat, choking her as she accidentally breathed in the sharp granules. Akemi had coughed up blood for two days straight, and ever since then hadn’t been able to get herself to try anything sweet. She had this irrational fear of the whole flavor group. 

She didn’t quite know why that memory had resurfaced, but she had awoken kicking and screaming, hands pawing at her mouth as she struggled to breathe. 

“Hey! Hey! Calm down, little mouse.” A familiar voice cooed at her, rough, warm hands pinning down her arms. 

Her eyes flickered open, a terrified, doe-like expression carved into her face. “Shhh, shhhh. You’re fine, stop struggling about.” Two deep-blue eyes stared down at her as she struggled to control her breathing.

“W-who are you? Where am I?!” Her voice was meant to be a shout, but it came out as more of a crackling sound. She realized how parched she was, weakly covering a dry cough with her hand. 

“Well, you’re at LoV headquarters. I’m Dabi.” The man leaned back in his chair, plopping his legs gruffly on the cot she was sitting in. Akemi let out a little groan at the movement.

“...here…” The blue-haired man from before silently swooped in from the door to the room, a glass of water held tentatively in his hand, pinky raised. As he tried to hand the glass to Akemi, he noticed how violently her hands shook, and gently helped her sit up a little. He held the cup to her lips, and she took greedy gulps, water trickling down her chin to her chest. She hissed as it dribbled into her still-fresh cuts. 

“I’m Shigaraki. I’m not pleased at how puny your escape attempt was, to be honest. It was quite disappointing compared to the show you put on at the Compound.”

“Well I’d like to see how you fare after being stabbed in the stomach, cauterizing your own wounds, electrocuted, sexually assaulted, sliced to bits with razors and then electrocuted again.” She spat at him, shoving his hand aside. 

“Ah so the fat bastard Graham tried something, huh?” Shigaraki’s brows seemed to furrow for a millisecond, before flickering back to his regular stone cold disinterest. 

“Di...did I kill him?” Akemi whispered, looking down at her hands. 

“I mean I don’t know, mouse. All I saw was one fuckin’ bloody face. But Toga did make sure to crash the van, so…” Dabi grunted in response, taking a moment to file his nails. 

“What am I doing here?” Akemi’s voice quivered lightly, and she shyly reached out for Shigaraki to hand her the water again. He ignored her outstretched hands, bringing the glass up directly to her lips and cupping the back of her head as he tilted it back for her to drink.

“We are looking to recruit you.” Dabi added nonchalantly. 

Akemi moved to respond, but Shigaraki shook his head and tilted more water into her mouth, forcing her to drink. “I’m more interested in what the U.S. Secretary of Defense wanted with you.”

He sat the drink on the bedside table, but his hand remained cupped around the back of her head. Akemi swallowed, eyes darting between Dabi’s half-lidded stare and Shigaraki’s intense red-irises. 

Dabi let out a throaty chuckle. “It seems that we’re a bit overwhelming for the little mouse.”

Shigaraki withdrew his hands, shoving them deep into his pockets. “Dabi, get her cleaned up and tend to her wounds.” He headed for the door, turning to look at her as he swung it open.

“When I come back, though, I want you to tell me all about it.”

Dabi didn’t move from his spot sitting languidly in the chair, tending to his nails.

“I-if you aren’t going to help me tend to my wounds, could you at least hand me the first aid kit?” Akemi weakly motioned towards the kit on the bedside table. 

His turquoise eyes raised to meet her own. “Oh? Can you really not wait for me to get my hands on you?” His voice was a purr.

Akemi was startled by his response, face flushing as she twisted her own body to grab the kit from the stand. She hissed as the cuts on her chest re-opened, blood trickling down onto the white sheets.

“Hey there calm the fuck down, you really are a testy little thing aren’t you? Let me help you, or whatever.”

He opened the kit, taking out rolls of gauze, alcohol wipes, and an intimidating sterilized pack containing a needle and sutures. As he turned to her, he hesitated. 

“Well, you know you’re going to have to remove your top, right? I can’t get to all of the cuts this way, and your top is basically shredded to bits already.”

Akemi’s blush deepened, and she opened her mouth in protest.

“Oh come on, mouse. It’s not even a shirt. It’s a bralette. I’ve seen my fair share of tits, alright. Yours aren’t that special.”

Akemi relented, attempting to reach behind herself and unclasp it. She hissed in pain, turning to the man. “C-can you grab one of my daggers? I think I have to cut it off-”

“Nonsense,” Dabi was suddenly leaning over her, breath hot against her ear as he whispered into it. “I can help.” His arms wrapped around her, fingers lightly brushing against her skin as they searched for the clasp.

“These bralettes sure are complicated, aren’t they?” He smirked as he said this, enjoying the deepening blush across her neck and shoulders. He pretended to fumble, fingers purposefully brushing against her spine. 

“Shut the hell up and unclasp it, Dabi.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” With a click, the bra was unclasped. After that success, Dabi turned around in a surprising show of respect. He tossed a light white cotton rag over his shoulder at her. “Use this to hold over your...nipples or whatever. That way you can just move it aside as I treat each individual cut.” He mumbled this, and Akemi threw the lace bralette on the ground, quickly using the cloth to cover herself. 

“Oh, um, thank you.” She whispered. “I-I’m ready.” She added, giving an awkward cough. 

The man turned back to face her, a pad of cotton soaked in alcohol in hand. “Well then little mouse,” He broke out in a grin, eyes glittering. “This will probably hurt like a bitch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aghhhhhhh I have a really hard time writing Shigaraki. Idk why, he just comes off as *shy soft boi* whenever I write him and not *actual fucking psychopath*. I mean I'm that way with all of the villains, tbh. I think I have way too big of a soft spot for them, haha. Oh well. 
> 
> Give it to me straight though, is Akemi a likable character? A big concern of mine is that her over-poweredness and her kind of hesitant or frustrating personality make it difficult to relate to her or root for her. Let me know what I could do to help with that, if it's the case. :)


	17. Scab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akemi comes to terms with her current situation.

“MOTHERFUCKER!!!!” The scream echoed about the hallways of LoV’s base, Akemi writhing in pain as Dabi gruffly held her down. 

“Little mouse, while I typically would adore making you scream, I’m going to have to ask that you fucking sit still while I tie off this suture. Do you want to be covered in lopsided scars?” Dabi hissed through his teeth, tugging the needle through her skin. 

“I am going to punch you if you keep going I swear.” Akemi mumbled through tears, struggling to breathe as she felt the suture pull under her skin.

“Good thing that’s the last one, then. Wouldn’t want you to, uh…” He gave her a quick glance up and down, a pierced brow cocked. “...punch me.”

Dabi finished wrapping her chest in bandages before pulling back, closing up the first aid case and dropping it onto the ground. He languidly walked to the door, letting out a sigh as he stretched his arms upwards.

“Where are you going?” She asked timidly, white cloth clutched to her chest. 

“I’m going to wash my hands off, do you think I like walking around covered in dried blood?”

“Yes.” Akemi retorted without a pause, letting out a chuckle that pulled at her stitches and caused her to let out a groan in pain.

Dabi let out a bark of laughter, using the edge of his shirt to wipe a tear from his eye. “Aight, yeah you got me there.”

“C-can you bring me a shirt...or…” 

His cold eyes stared at her for a moment, his hand paused on the doorknob. “I’ll see what I can do.” He quickly left the room, door slamming behind him as Akemi was left alone with her thoughts. 

There was a sour, wrenching feeling in her chest, underneath the fresh sting of fascia-deep cuts. It was a type of heavy pain that occupied her lungs, barely giving her room to breathe. She sat there for a moment, taking in the pain, before coming to a realization-- her entire existence had led up to a simple exchange of a suitcase. 

Chia wouldn’t braid her hair anymore. Kira wouldn’t slip a granola bar under her door after a long day of combat practice.

Of course, this meant there would be no more beatings. That she wouldn’t practice life-or-death combat for 8 hours a day, only stopping to down a nutritional shake or study Hero relations. It meant she wouldn’t be starved for doing poorly, caned for being too slow, punched for missing a mark. 

She thought she would feel happy, knowing that her life of abuse and exhaustion was over. But all she felt was emptiness, and embarrassment. Yeah, Chairman Kira and Chia had never really treated her like family. But they had been...something to her. And she had hoped she had been something to them.

It turns out she was.

She was a big, fat, paycheck. And that hurt the most. More than the beatings and the cold showers and the aching muscles. 

Akemi let out a sob, fingernails digging into her arms. The sound was sharp and breathy, and she felt it in her bones. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pulled her knees up to her chest. She had been so desperate to escape from the Chairman just a week ago. So happy to have found Aizawa, who was willing to help her leave. So willing to build a life outside of the Compound. 

But for a split second she would have given anything to be back. For her world of grey concrete walls and bulletproof glass. 

The fresh air of the outside world was too overwhelming.

Akemi sat there, crying and rocking back and forth, for what must have been a couple of hours. Dabi was poised on the other side of the door, hand hovering over the knob, ear pressed against the wood. He had been waiting for an appropriate lull in the sobs to make an entrance, but there didn’t seem to be one. Her cries were constant, and he could hear her struggling to breathe from under her dressings.

Finally, he mustered up the courage to turn the knob.

“Akemi, I brought you a shirt like you asked or whatever.” He threw her an old, thread-bare gray sweatshirt. It was about three sizes too large for her, and the edges were frayed, but she grasped it to her chest and thanked him. 

He could see the red on her cheekbones from how roughly she had wiped the tears from her eyes as he walked in. He felt embarrassed, just standing there empty handed, so he strutted over to the bed and motioned for her to lift her arms.

“What?” She furrowed her brows at him.

“Lift your arms. I’m going to help you put the sweatshirt on.” 

Numbly, she did as she was told. As he pulled the fabric over her head, he caught a glimpse of a smattering of silvery white lines across her back. Some of them were light, pulled taut against the sinews of the muscles beneath her skin, others were raised and turning purple in the cold room. His hand lightly grazed one as he finished tugging on the sweatshirt. He had noticed similar patterns on her forearms and stomach, and although he was gripped with curiosity and the urge to make a snide remark, he kept his mouth shut. The girl looked like she ought to catch a break once in a while. 

He grabbed a glass of water from the bedside and placed it in her hands carefully, wrapping her fingers around the glass. Pausing for a moment, his cerulean eyes darted to meet her emerald ones. “Do you want to talk about it? I mean I’m not one for sentimental talk or anything, but it may feel good to get it off your chest. If you weren’t so fucked up I’d ask you if you want to spar, but...well, for now, talking looks like the better option.”

She brought the glass up to her lips, took the smallest of sips, and brought it down. Staring emptily into the water, she let out a small scoff. “What is there to say, really. You were privy to the entire exchange. I was trained for one thing only, and when I failed, they decided to sell me off. And you’re just here because you want something from me. Just like I was only brought into this world because the Chairman wanted something from me.”

“Woah, slow down there Othello. Your life isn’t some Shakespearean tragedy, you know.” He snorted, plopping himself down in the chair by her bed.

“You’re right, this isn’t nearly as poetic.” She mumbled as she brought the glass back up to her lips. 

“Whatever, I'm done being nice to you just because you’re pitiful.” Dabi abruptly stood up and left the room, the slam of the door sending a cold gust of air into the room. 

She reminded herself that these weren’t nice people. That she shouldn’t feel attached to anyone or anything after such a short time. She had a vague, sad feeling in knowing that she probably wouldn’t be seeing Bakugou and the others anytime soon, but then realized this applied to them as well. _I’m easy to take advantage of_ , she mused, _because I bond to anyone who is the least bit kind or sincere with me_. She let out a dry chuckle, feeling the saltiness of her tears drip down the back of her throat. At least she was learning to be honest with herself. 

There was a light knock at the door, and Akemi buried herself under her covers. “Come in.” She mumbled.

“...Hello…” Shigaraki grumbled in response, quietly shuffling over to sit at her bedside. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt similar to her own, and Akemi quietly noted that her own sweatshirt was soaked in the smell of Cerave moisturizer and cheap incense. She sniffed the air a little, amused that it matched Shigaraki’s own scent. 

“Are you ready to-”

“So the big, scary villain knocks, huh?” Akemi interrupted, hands clasped neatly in her lap. She knew that she was testing her luck, trying to incite ire the way she sometimes did with Chia. But her sadness was starting to churn into something thicker and darker.

“Watch your tongue. You’re here because I see potential in you, I could just as easily toss you aside like the Chairman did.” He hissed, leaning over her.

“You might as well just go ahead and do that. I don’t really plan on being of use to you.” Akemi mumbled back, shrinking backwards into the pillows. Shigaraki was close, close enough for her to really identify the incense she had smelled earlier. It was myrrh, and a musky smell that reminded her of patchouli. Her eyes traveled up his form, settling on his neck. Crusty, half formed scabs streaked at his neck and shoulders. Before thinking, Akemi reached out, fingertips tentatively touching the irritated skin. Shigaraki pulled back, flinching at her touch. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing you brat?” He sucked in air through his teeth, eyebrows furrowed in disgust. His flame-red eyes combed her over, a dry-skinned hand reaching up to cover the wounds at his neck. 

“Those look like they hurt, did you do them to yourself?” She cocked her head, already knowing the answer. As if on instinct, Shigaraki dug his nails into his skin, averting her gaze in a rare moment of shame. 

“I really don’t see how that’s any of your business, you aren’t-”

“You have the remote, right?” She interjected, eyes darting to the metal bracelets at her wrists.

“You think I’m dumb enough to-”

“You don’t have to turn them off completely, just about 25%. What, are you scared of me? I’m a quarter dead, the biggest villain out there shouldn’t be scared.” A half-hearted smile broke across her face.

“Stop interrupting me, you brat. Whatever.” He took out the thin silver remote, awkwardly turning it over in his hand as he struggled to push the right buttons.

Akemi beckoned him, rubbing at her wrist as she felt the familiar tingling sensation. The blue haired man awkwardly approached her, sitting on the edge of the bed. She rested her hand on his skin as gently as she could. She knew she really wasn’t able to heal any wounds, but she could help. She was able to focus in on swollen and inflamed nerves deep under his fascia, and she worked to dull the throb of pain they were sending to his brain. 

“Ah, so you’re about as effective as a Tylenol, huh?” The villain chided, beginning to pull back.

“Stay.” Akemi grabbed his arm, pulling him closer. Her other hand trailed from his neck to his jaw, sending shivers down his spine. He couldn’t remember the last time he had let someone touch him so gently. He fought back an overwhelming feeling compelling him to slap her hand away.

Unaware of the tumultuous thoughts she was forcing upon him, Akemi continued to trail her finger from his jaw and onto his lips. She felt the molecules of moisture in the air and pulled them towards his skin, ensuring each one penetrated deep into the dermis. Her hand traced his cupid bow before she swiped her thumb across his lower lip. Shigaraki felt his breath hitch in his throat, his heartbeat quickening. For the first time, he felt heat at his cheeks as he blushed. 

When she was done with his lips, her fingers moved to his under eyes, tracing from his lower lashes to his cheekbones. When she finished, she moved back and settled against the pillows, overcome with exhaustion. “Jesus, that was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. When I’m all rested up, I can do your elbows and knees. I’d do your hands, but...well with your Quirk and all I’m not sure how safe it would be.” She studied him, misinterpreting his dazed look. “I mean if you say it’s safe, I can do your hands later on.” 

“W-what the hell did you do just then?” His hand clutched at his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

“Nothing much, just helped your skin retain some moisture. It’s temporary, sadly, but a little more effective than Cerave. Eczema, right? Chia used to get it, hers was triggered by stress.” Akemi let out a deep sigh as her eyes fluttered shut.

“Not that, what did you do to my heart? Are you trying to kill me?” Shigaraki stumbled over his words, backing up from her slightly.

“What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t do anything to your heart.” Akemi mumbled as the exhaustion overcame her, and she found herself falling into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry for being gone for so long. I was admitted to the hospital and soon after told that I most likely had lost my ability to carry children. I never really wanted kids anyway, but it was a stressful time and I kind of found myself wallowing in self-pity for a couple of months. I just recently got the hospital bill and I think that's what shocked me out of my state, hahaha. Oh well, I'm back! Sorry for the short chapter, I promise you'll have another one by next month. :)


End file.
